Why does birthplace matter so much?

Bosquet, Clément and Overman, Henry G. ORCID: 0000-0002-3525-7629 (2019) Why does birthplace matter so much? Journal of Urban Economics, 110. pp. 26-34. ISSN 0094-1190

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Abstract

We consider the link between birthplace and wages. Using a unique panel dataset, we estimate a raw elasticity of wages with respect to birthplace size of 4.2%, two thirds of the 6.8% raw elasticity with respect to city size. Part of this effect simply reflects intergenerational transmission and the spatial sorting of parents, part is explained by the role that birthplace size plays in determining current city size. Lifetime immobility explains a lot of the correlation between birthplace and current city size: we show that 43.7% of individuals only ever work while living in the place they were born. Our results highlight the importance of intergenerational and individual sorting in helping explain the persistence of spatial disparities.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Divisions:	Geography & Environment
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
JEL classification:	J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies > J61 - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies > J62 - Job, Occupational, and Intergenerational Mobility J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J31 - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials by Skill, Training, Occupation, etc. R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R2 - Household Analysis > R23 - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
Date Deposited:	06 Mar 2019 09:57
Last Modified:	17 Oct 2024 17:24
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/100201

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