Arbeitspapier

Cities and Cultures

We investigate the existence of wage premium due to cultural diversity across US cities. Using census data from 1970 to 1990, we find that at the urban level richer diversity is systematically associated with higher average nominal wages for white US-born males. We measure cultural diversity in a city using the variety of languages spoken by city-residents. While the positive correlation between wages and diversity survives a battery of robustness checks, it seems to be larger once foreign cultures have been assimilated. Finally, instrumental variable estimation hints at causation going from diversity to wages. Comparing real and nominal wages across cities, we interpret these results as evidence that diversity enhances productivity.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: Nota di Lavoro ; No. 92.2004

Classification
Wirtschaft
Subject
Cultural diversity
Productivity
Wages
Metropolitan areas
Lohnniveau
Lohnstruktur
Vergleich
Stadt
USA

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Ottaviano, Gianmarco I.P.
Peri, Giovanni
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM)
(where)
Milano
(when)
2004

Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET

Data provider

This object is provided by:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.

Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Ottaviano, Gianmarco I.P.
  • Peri, Giovanni
  • Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM)

Time of origin

  • 2004

Other Objects (12)