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Smart Cities: Explaining the Relationship between City Growth and Human Capital

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  • Jesse M. Shapiro

    (Harvard University)

Abstract

From 1940 to 1990, a 10 percent increase in a metrpolitan area’s concentration of college-educated residents was associated with a .6 percent increase in subsequent employment growth. Using data on growth in wages and house values, I attempt to distinguish between explanations for this correlation based on local productivity growth, and explanations based on growth in local consumption amenities. Calibration of a city growth model suggests that roughly two-thirds of the growth effect of human capital is due to enhanced productivity growth, the rest being caused by growth in the quality of life. This contrasts with the standard argument that human capital generates growth in urban areas solely through local knowledge spillovers.

Suggested Citation

  • Jesse M. Shapiro, 2003. "Smart Cities: Explaining the Relationship between City Growth and Human Capital," Urban/Regional 0309001, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpur:0309001
    Note: Type of Document - Acrobat PDF; prepared on IBM PC ; to print on HP; pages: 24 ; figures: included
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    Cited by:

    1. Guido De Blasio, 2005. "Production Or Consumption? Disentangling The Skill-Agglomeration Connection," ERSA conference papers ersa05p648, European Regional Science Association.
    2. Ozgen, Ceren & Nijkamp, Peter & Poot, Jacques, 2011. "The Impact of Cultural Diversity on Innovation: Evidence from Dutch Firm-Level Data," IZA Discussion Papers 6000, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Andrew Boulton & Stanley D. Brunn & Lomme Devriendt, 2011. "Cyberinfrastructures and ‘Smart’ World Cities: Physical, Human and Soft Infrastructures," Chapters, in: Ben Derudder & Michael Hoyler & Peter J. Taylor & Frank Witlox (ed.), International Handbook of Globalization and World Cities, chapter 18, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Ceren Ozgen & Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot, 2012. "Immigration and innovation in European regions," Chapters, in: Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot & Mediha Sahin (ed.), Migration Impact Assessment, chapter 8, pages 261-298, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Terance J. Rephann, 2008. "Community Colleges and Local Economic Development," Working Papers 2008-02, Center for Economic and Policy Studies.
    6. Ceren Ozgen & Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot, 2013. "Measuring Cultural Diversity and its Impact on Innovation: Longitudinal Evidence from Dutch firms," Norface Discussion Paper Series 2013003, Norface Research Programme on Migration, Department of Economics, University College London.
    7. Edward Ludwig Glaeser & Albert Saiz, 2003. "The rise of the skilled city," Working Papers 04-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    8. María del Carmen Olmos-Gómez & Mónica Luque-Suárez & Soraya Mohamed-Mohamed & Jesús Manuel Cuevas-Rincón, 2020. "Validation of the Smart City as a Sustainable Development Knowledge Tool: The Challenge of Using Technologies in Education during COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-18, October.
    9. Fu, Shihe, 2007. "Smart Cafe Cities: Testing human capital externalities in the Boston metropolitan area," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 86-111, January.
    10. Mundula, Luigi & Auci, Sabrina, 2013. "Smart Cities and a Stochastic Frontier Analysis: A Comparison among European Cities," MPRA Paper 51586, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Roberta De Santis & Alessandra Fasano & Nadia Mignolli & Anna Villa, 2015. "A primer on city "smartness" measurement," RIVISTA DI ECONOMIA E STATISTICA DEL TERRITORIO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(2), pages 34-51.
    12. Dameri, Renata Paola & Benevolo, Clara & Veglianti, Eleonora & Li, Yaya, 2019. "Understanding smart cities as a glocal strategy: A comparison between Italy and China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 26-41.
    13. De Santis, Roberta & Fasano, Alessandra & Mignolli, Nadia & Villa, Anna, 2014. "Smart city: fact and fiction," MPRA Paper 54536, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Alberto Dalmazzo & Guido De Blasio, 2005. "Where Do Human Capital Externalities End Up To?," ERSA conference papers ersa05p628, European Regional Science Association.
    15. Ceren Ozgen & Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot, 2013. "The impact of cultural diversity on firm innovation: evidence from Dutch micro-data," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-24, December.
    16. David B. Audretsch & Maksim Belitski & Julia Korosteleva, 2021. "Cultural diversity and knowledge in explaining entrepreneurship in European cities," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 593-611, February.
    17. Wioletta Wierzbicka, 2021. "Differentiation in levels of human capital among small cities in Warminsko-Mazurskie Voivodship," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 9(2), pages 209-222, December.
    18. Seung-hun Chung & Mark D. Partridge, 2019. "Are shocks to human capital composition permanent? Evidence from the Mariel boatlift," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 63(3), pages 461-515, December.
    19. Daniel F. Heuermann, 2009. "Career Networks and Job Matching - Evidence on the Microeconomic Foundations of Human Capital Externalities," IAAEG Discussion Papers until 2011 200901, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).
    20. Stephen Greasley & Peter John & Harold Wolman, 2011. "Does Government Performance Matter? The Effects of Local Government on Urban Outcomes in England," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(9), pages 1835-1851, July.
    21. Shihe Fu, 2005. "What Has Been Capitalized into Property Values: Human Capital, Social Capital, or Cultural Capital?," Working Papers 05-25, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    22. Sotiris Zygiaris, 2013. "Smart City Reference Model: Assisting Planners to Conceptualize the Building of Smart City Innovation Ecosystems," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 4(2), pages 217-231, June.
    23. Schiavone, Francesco & Paolone, Francesco & Mancini, Daniela, 2019. "Business model innovation for urban smartization," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 210-219.
    24. Rita Lamboglia & Daniela Mancini & Francesco Paolone, 2018. "A Roadmap for Performance Measurement in Smarter Universities," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(2 Suppl.), pages 113-133.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    city growth; human capital; hedonics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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