Search and the City

Arbeitspapier

We develop a model of an economy with several regions, which differ in scale. Within each region, workers have to search for a job-type that matches their skill. They face a trade-off between match quality and the cost of extended search. This trade-off differs between regions, because search is more efficient in larger regions. Then, interregional mobility and trade lead to a pattern of specialization where large scale regions have a comparative advantage in producing commodities that are search intensive, i.e. that require a wide variety of tasks and make use of scarce worker types. Empirical evidence for the United States is consistent with the implications of the model. Search can explain about two thirds of the wage differentials between large metropoles and small cities.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper ; No. 02-061/3

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials ; Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search ; Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity ; Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics
• Subject: Search ; Cities ; Assignment ; Trade ; Regionale Entwicklung ; Stadt-Land-Beziehung ; Arbeitsuche ; Skalenertrag ; Regionale Arbeitsteilung ; Agglomerationseffekt ; Räumliche Gleichgewichtstheorie ; Theorie ; USA

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Teulings, Coen N. ; Gautier, P.A.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Tinbergen Institute
• (where): Amsterdam and Rotterdam
• (when): 2002

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/86045
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET