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For whom are cities good places to live?

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We use survey data to examine whether there are some sociodemographic groups that particularly value the amenities that cities provide. We find that young, single and childless persons and young men with tertiary education are relatively more satisfied with urban areas as place of residence. Being single is more important for women's appraisal of places, while having children matters more for men’s preferences. There is a high degree of agreement between sociodemographic groups on whether a particular amenity represents an urban amenity or an urban disamenity. Higher education, public transportation, culture, leisure activities and shopping opportunities are urban amenities, whereas other public services, safety, living conditions for children and outdoor recreation are urban disamenities.

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  • Fredrik Carlsen & Stefan Leknes, 2019. "For whom are cities good places to live?," Discussion Papers 910, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:ssb:dispap:910
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    Cited by:

    1. Jørn Rattsø & Hildegunn E Stokke, 2015. "Handling amenities in income taxation: Analysis of tax distortions in a migration equilibrium model," Working Paper Series 16315, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
    2. Jørn Rattsø & Hildegunn E. Stokke, 2017. "National income taxation and the geographic distribution of population," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 24(5), pages 879-902, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Place satisfaction; amenities; population size; sociodemographic groups;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • R22 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Other Demand
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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