IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/regeco/v41y2011i5p446-454.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Human capital, higher education institutions, and quality of life

Author

Listed:
  • Winters, John V.

Abstract

This paper considers the effects of the local human capital level and the presence of higher education institutions on the quality of life in U.S. metropolitan areas. The local human capital level is measured by the share of adults with a college degree, and the relative importance of higher education institutions is measured by the share of the population enrolled in college. This paper finds that quality of life is positively affected by both the local human capital level and the relative importance of higher education institutions. Furthermore, these effects persist when these two measures are considered simultaneously, even though the two are highly correlated. That is the human capital stock and higher education institutions have a shared effect and also separate effects on quality of life.

Suggested Citation

  • Winters, John V., 2011. "Human capital, higher education institutions, and quality of life," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 446-454, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:41:y:2011:i:5:p:446-454
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166046211000305
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Edward L. Glaeser, Jed Kolko, and Albert Saiz, 2001. "Consumer city," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 27-50, January.
    2. Berry, Christopher R. & Glaeser, Edward L., 2005. "Divergence of Human Capital Levels across Cities," Working Paper Series rwp05-057, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    3. Alm, James & Winters, John V., 2009. "Distance and intrastate college student migration," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 728-738, December.
    4. Groen, Jeffrey A. & White, Michelle J., 2004. "In-state versus out-of-state students: the divergence of interest between public universities and state governments," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 1793-1814, August.
    5. Joshua Drucker & Harvey Goldstein, 2007. "Assessing the Regional Economic Development Impacts of Universities: A Review of Current Approaches," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 30(1), pages 20-46, January.
    6. Jesse M. Shapiro, 2006. "Smart Cities: Quality of Life, Productivity, and the Growth Effects of Human Capital," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(2), pages 324-335, May.
    7. Moretti, Enrico, 2004. "Estimating the social return to higher education: evidence from longitudinal and repeated cross-sectional data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 175-212.
    8. Winters, John V., 2009. "Wages and prices: Are workers fully compensated for cost of living differences?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 632-643, September.
    9. Hickman, Daniel C., 2009. "The effects of higher education policy on the location decision of individuals: Evidence from Florida's Bright Futures Scholarship Program," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 553-562, September.
    10. Lange, Fabian & Topel, Robert, 2006. "The Social Value of Education and Human Capital," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 8, pages 459-509, Elsevier.
    11. Melanie Blackwell & Steven Cobb & David Weinberg, 2002. "The Economic Impact of Educational Institutions: Issues and Methodology," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 16(1), pages 88-95, February.
    12. Edward Ludwig Glaeser & Albert Saiz, 2003. "The rise of the skilled city," Working Papers 04-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    13. Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), 2006. "Handbook of the Economics of Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1, June.
    14. Brigitte Waldorf, 2009. "Is human capital accumulation a self-propelling process? Comparing educational attainment levels of movers and stayers," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 43(2), pages 323-344, June.
    15. Elvery, Joel A., 2010. "City size and skill intensity," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 367-379, November.
    16. David Card, 1993. "Using Geographic Variation in College Proximity to Estimate the Return to Schooling," Working Papers 696, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    17. Glaeser, Edward L. & Scheinkman, JoseA. & Shleifer, Andrei, 1995. "Economic growth in a cross-section of cities," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 117-143, August.
    18. John Winters, 2013. "Differences in quality of life estimates using rents and home values," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 51(2), pages 377-409, October.
    19. Groen, J.A.Jeffrey A., 2004. "The effect of college location on migration of college-educated labor," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 125-142.
    20. David Albouy, 2009. "The Unequal Geographic Burden of Federal Taxation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 117(4), pages 635-667, August.
    21. Rappaport, Jordan, 2007. "Moving to nice weather," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 375-398, May.
    22. Rauch James E., 1993. "Productivity Gains from Geographic Concentration of Human Capital: Evidence from the Cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 380-400, November.
    23. Lance Lochner & Enrico Moretti, 2004. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 155-189, March.
    24. Alberto Dalmazzo & Guido Blasio, 2007. "Production and consumption externalities of human capital: an empirical study for Italy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 20(2), pages 359-382, April.
    25. Christopher R. Berry & Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The divergence of human capital levels across cities," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 84(3), pages 407-444, August.
    26. Alberto Dalmazzo & Guido Blasio, 2007. "Social returns to education in Italian local labor markets," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 41(1), pages 51-69, March.
    27. Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), 2006. "Handbook of the Economics of Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 2, number 2, June.
    28. Zephyr, 2010. "The city," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1-2), pages 154-155, February.
    29. Susana Iranzo & Giovanni Peri, 2009. "Schooling Externalities, Technology, and Productivity: Theory and Evidence from U.S. States," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(2), pages 420-431, May.
    30. Moretti, Enrico, 2004. "Human capital externalities in cities," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 51, pages 2243-2291, Elsevier.
    31. P. C. Cheshire & E. S. Mills (ed.), 1999. "Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 3, number 3.
    32. Chen, Yong & Rosenthal, Stuart S., 2008. "Local amenities and life-cycle migration: Do people move for jobs or fun?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 519-537, November.
    33. Christopher R. Berry & Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The Divergence of Human Capital Levels Across Cities," NBER Working Papers 11617, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    34. Richard Florida, 2002. "Bohemia and economic geography," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(1), pages 55-71, January.
    35. Roback, Jennifer, 1982. "Wages, Rents, and the Quality of Life," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(6), pages 1257-1278, December.
    36. Ronald L. Whisler & Brigitte S. Waldorf & Gordon F. Mulligan & David A. Plane, 2008. "Quality of Life and the Migration of the College‐Educated: A Life‐Course Approach," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 58-94, March.
    37. repec:hoo:wpaper:e-95-4 is not listed on IDEAS
    38. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Kevin Stolarick, 2008. "Inside the black box of regional development: human capital, the creative class and tolerance," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(5), pages 615-649, September.
    39. Brasington, David M. & Haurin, Donald R., 2009. "Parents, peers, or school inputs: Which components of school outcomes are capitalized into house value?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 523-529, September.
    40. David Albouy, 2008. "Are Big Cities Bad Places to Live? Estimating Quality of Life across Metropolitan Areas," NBER Working Papers 14472, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    41. Simon, Curtis J., 1998. "Human Capital and Metropolitan Employment Growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 223-243, March.
    42. Kevin Milligan & Enrico Moretti & Philip Oreopoulos, 2003. "Does Education Improve Citizenship? Evidence from the U.S. and the U.K," NBER Working Papers 9584, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    43. David Huffman & John M. Quigley, 2002. "The role of the university in attracting high tech entrepreneurship: A Silicon Valley tale," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 36(3), pages 403-419.
    44. Waldfogel, Joel, 2008. "The median voter and the median consumer: Local private goods and population composition," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 567-582, March.
    45. Gyourko, Joseph & Kahn, Matthew & Tracy, Joseph, 1999. "Quality of life and environmental comparisons," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: P. C. Cheshire & E. S. Mills (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 37, pages 1413-1454, Elsevier.
    46. Christopher R. Berry & Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The Divergence of Human Capital Levels across Cities," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2091, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    47. John V. Winters, 2011. "Why Are Smart Cities Growing? Who Moves And Who Stays," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 253-270, May.
    48. Vernon Henderson, J., 2007. "Understanding knowledge spillovers," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 497-508, July.
    49. David A. Plane & Frank Heins, 2003. "Age articulation of U.S. inter-metropolitan migration flows," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 37(1), pages 107-130, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Winters, John V, 2010. "Human Capital and Population Growth in Non-Metropolitan U.S. Counties: The Importance of College Student Migration," MPRA Paper 25592, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. John V. Winters, 2011. "Human Capital and Population Growth in Nonmetropolitan U.S. Counties," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 25(4), pages 353-365, November.
    3. John V. Winters, 2013. "Human capital externalities and employment differences across metropolitan areas of the USA," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 13(5), pages 799-822, September.
    4. John V. Winters, 2011. "Why Are Smart Cities Growing? Who Moves And Who Stays," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 253-270, May.
    5. John Winters, 2012. "Differences in employment outcomes for college town stayers and leavers," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-17, December.
    6. Winters, John V., 2014. "STEM graduates, human capital externalities, and wages in the U.S," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 190-198.
    7. Winters, John V., 2014. "The Production and Stock of College Graduates for U.S. States," IZA Discussion Papers 8730, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Aurélie LALANNE & Guillaume POUYANNE, 2012. "Ten years of metropolization in economics: a bibliometric approach (In French)," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2012-11, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    9. David L. Sjoquist & John V. Winters, 2015. "State Merit-Based Financial Aid Programs And College Attainment," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 364-390, June.
    10. Arntz, Melanie & Brüll, Eduard & Lipowski, Cäcilia, 2021. "Do preferences for urban amenities really differ by skill?," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-045, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    11. John V. Winters, 2018. "Do higher college graduation rates increase local education levels?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 97(3), pages 617-638, August.
    12. Jaison Abel & Todd Gabe, 2011. "Human Capital and Economic Activity in Urban America," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(8), pages 1079-1090.
    13. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Kevin Stolarick, 2016. "Human capital in cities and suburbs," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 57(1), pages 91-123, July.
    14. Südekum, Jens, 2008. "Convergence of the skill composition across German regions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 148-159, March.
    15. Edward L. Glaeser & Joshua D. Gottlieb, 2008. "The Economics of Place-Making Policies," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 39(1 (Spring), pages 155-253.
    16. Daniel Broxterman & Anthony Yezer, 2021. "Human capital divergence and the size distribution of cities: Is Gibrat’s law obsolete?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(12), pages 2549-2568, September.
    17. Edward L. Glaeser & Giacomo A. M. Ponzetto & Kristina Tobio, 2014. "Cities, Skills and Regional Change," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 7-43, January.
    18. Südekum Jens, 2010. "Human Capital Externalities and Growth of High- and Low-Skilled Jobs," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 230(1), pages 92-114, February.
    19. George W. Hammond & Eric C. Thompson, 2010. "Divergence and Mobility in College sag Attainment Across U.S. Labor Market Areas: 1970—2000," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 33(4), pages 397-420, October.
    20. Fu, Yuming & Gabriel, Stuart A., 2012. "Labor migration, human capital agglomeration and regional development in China," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 473-484.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human capital Higher education College towns Quality of life Amenities;

    JEL classification:

    • R13 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General Equilibrium and Welfare Economic Analysis of Regional Economies
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:41:y:2011:i:5:p:446-454. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/regec .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.