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The Death and Life of Great British Cities

Author

Listed:
  • Stephan Heblich
  • Dávid Krisztián Nagy
  • Alex Trew
  • Yanos Zylberberg

Abstract

Does industrial concentration shape the life and death of cities? We identify settlements from historical maps of England and Wales (1790–1820), isolate exogenous variation in their late 19th-century size and industrial concentration, and estimate the causal impact of size and concentration on later dynamics. Industrial concentration has a negative effect on long-run productivity—independent of industry trends and consistent with cross-industry Jacobs externalities. A spatial model quantifies the role of fundamentals, industry trends, and Jacobs externalities in shaping industry-city dynamics and isolates a new, dynamic trade-off in the design of place-based policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephan Heblich & Dávid Krisztián Nagy & Alex Trew & Yanos Zylberberg, 2025. "The Death and Life of Great British Cities," NBER Working Papers 34029, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34029
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Keiti Kondi & Willem Sas & Vincent Vandenberghe, 2025. "Where There was Smoke, There is Water: Canals as Indicator of Urban Income Inequality," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2025008, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F63 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Economic Development
    • N93 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • R13 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General Equilibrium and Welfare Economic Analysis of Regional Economies

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