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Spatial Sorting and Inequality

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  • Rebecca Diamond
  • Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of spatial sorting in shaping economic inequality in the United States. We first document the evolution of firm and worker sorting by skill level between 1980 and 2017. We highlight a shift since 2000, where both high-education workers and firms increasingly sort away from high-wage, high-rent areas. Throughout the entire time period, high-education workers continue to sort to high amenity areas. We then develop a spatial equilibrium model that incorporates idiosyncratic worker and firm sorting and discuss estimation techniques to identify model parameters. We review recent empirical advancements in spatial sorting, including firm and worker location choices and their interactions with housing policy. We conclude by outlining the model’s limitations and proposing directions for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca Diamond & Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato, 2025. "Spatial Sorting and Inequality," NBER Working Papers 33609, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33609
    Note: LS PE
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    Cited by:

    1. Sanduku Mulumba & Lawrence Edwards & David Fadiran, 2024. "Economic geography determinants of spatial wage disparities in South Africa: Evidence from a firm‐level panel," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2024-52, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Marko Köthenbürger & Costanza Naguib & Christian Stettler & Michael Stimmelmayr, 2023. "Income Taxes and the Mobility of the Rich: Evidence from US and UK Households in Switzerland," CESifo Working Paper Series 10376, CESifo.
    3. Katheryn N. Russ & Jay C. Shambaugh & Sanjay R. Singh, 2024. "Currency Areas, Labor Markets, and Regional Cyclical Sensitivity," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 72(1), pages 152-195, March.
    4. Chen, Natalie & Novy, Dennis & Perroni, Carlo & Wong, Horng Chern, 2023. "Urban-biased structural change," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121286, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Harald Bathelt & Maximilian Buchholz & Michael Storper, 2024. "The nature, causes, and consequences of inter-regional inequality," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 24(3), pages 353-374.
    6. Clémence Berson & Pierre-Philippe Combes & Laurent Gobillon & Aurélie Sotura, 2023. "Time-Varying Agglomeration Economies and Aggregate Wage Growth," Working Papers hal-04346733, HAL.
    7. Gehr, Katja & Pflüger, Michael P., 2023. "The Worth of Cities in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 16127, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Bathelt, Harald & Buchholz, Maximilian & Storper, Michael, 2024. "The nature, causes, and consequences of inter-regional inequality," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 123014, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Gokan,Toshitaka & Kichko,Sergei & Matheson,Jesse A & Thisse,Jacques-François, 2022. "How the rise of teleworking will reshape labor markets and cities?," IDE Discussion Papers 868, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    10. David Autor & David Dorn & Gordon Hanson & Maggie R. Jones & Bradley Setzler, 2024. "Places versus People: The Ins and Outs of Labor Market Adjustment to Globalization," Working Papers 24-78, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    11. Hakan Yilmazkuday, 2024. "Welfare costs of shopping trips," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 73(1), pages 241-264, June.
    12. Katja Gehr & Michael Pflüger, 2025. "Cities, Aggregate Welfare, and Growth," CESifo Working Paper Series 11716, CESifo.
    13. Perl, Maximilian, 2023. "Agglomerations, tasks and wage growth," Ruhr Economic Papers 999, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics
    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis

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