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Working Paper
Aggregate employment growth and the deconcentration of metropolitan employment
In this paper, the authors document that the disparity in employment densities across U.S. metropolitan areas has lessened substantially over the postwar period. To account for this deconcentration of metropolitan employment, the authors develop a system-of-cities model in which an increase in aggregate metropolitan employment causes congestion costs to increase faster for the more dense metro areas. A calibrated version of the model reveals that the (roughly) two-and-a-half-fold increase in postwar aggregate metropolitan employment implies, by itself, more deconcentration than actually ...
Working Paper
Where the headquarters are – evidence from large public companies 1990-2000
This paper examines the location of headquarter growth of large public companies during the 1990s. Headquarters continue to be attracted by large metropolitan areas. Yet among that group they continue to disperse into medium-sized centers. This paper identifies 6 different categories of gross flows underlying the net change of headquarters observed during the 90s. There is strong variation among the 50 largest metro areas in terms of the composition of these gross flows. On average, entry and exit represent over 2/3 of all gross flow activity. Pure relocation of headquarters is found to lead ...
Journal Article
Estimating U.S. metropolitan area export and import competition
This article estimates the extent to which the manufacturing sectors of U.S. metropolitan economies face competition from abroad and, in turn, how much they export overseas.
Journal Article
Suburban housing collaborative: a case for interjurisdictional collaboration
More than 280 municipalities surround the city of Chicago, with more than 120 in Cook County alone. The metropolitan region?s seven counties also include 123 townships, 307 school districts, 136 fire districts, 173 park districts, and 108 library districts. (GO TO 2040 2010) In recent years, some suburban communities have recorded foreclosure rates exceeding those of the most distressed inner city neighborhoods. In other towns, home values have fallen to 1990s levels. In still others, less than 10 percent of the local workforce can afford to live near where they work. Layered over all of ...
Journal Article
Suburban expansion
Census figures show that suburbs in the Eighth District are growing faster than they are for the nation as a whole
Newsletter
Looking for diamonds in the rust: Midwest cities and job growth
While many discuss the Midwest?s economic struggles, often overlooked are the varied performances of the region?s cities. The author looks at the performances of the region?s cities since the turn in the regional economy five years ago and assesses how each city?s performance was affected by its industry mix.
Working Paper
Market size matters
This paper empirically examines the effects of market size on producers' sizes in retail trade industries with many producers. A robust prediction of oligopoly theory is that larger markets are more competitive and have lower price-cost markups. Because producers in more competitive markets must sell more at a lower markup to recover their fixed costs, oligopoly theory implies that larger and more competitive markets have larger producers. Our estimated market size effects indicate whether or not this prediction of oligopoly theory carries over to competition among many producers. ; Our ...
Journal Article
Does the federal tax treatment of housing affect the pattern of metropolitan development?
The U.S. tax code allows home owners to deduct mortgage interest and property taxes on their federal income tax forms. It also gives special treatment to the capital gains realized from the sale of owner-occupied housing. These advantages encourage investment in owner-occupied housing. But do these tax breaks have other, more far-reaching consequences? In this article, Dick Voith looks at how the tax code's special treatment of owner-occupied housing may affect metropolitan development
Journal Article
Location trends of large company headquarters during the 1990s
This article documents changes in the spatial distribution of corporate headquarters of large U.S.-domiciled corporations during the 1990s. The authors find that the largest metropolitan areas continue to host a disproportionate share of headquarters, but there have been significant shifts toward cities with population between one and two million.