Suburbanization in the United States 1970-2010

Redding, Stephen (2021) Suburbanization in the United States 1970-2010. CEP Discussion Papers (1768). Centre for Economic Performance, LSE, London, UK.

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Abstract

The second half of the twentieth century saw large-scale suburbanization in the United States, with the median share of residents who work in the same county where they live falling from 87 to 71 percent between 1970 and 2000. We introduce a new methodology for discriminating between the three leading explanations for this suburbanization (workplace attractiveness, residence attractiveness and bilateral com-muting frictions). This methodology holds in the class of spatial models that are characterized by a structural gravity equation for commuting. We show that the increased openness of counties to commuting is mainly explained by reductions in bilateral commuting frictions, consistent with the expansion of the interstate highway network and the falling real cost of car ownership. We find that changes in workplace attractiveness and residence attractiveness are more important in explaining the observed shift in employment by workplace and employment by residence towards lower densities over time.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/discussion...
Additional Information:	© 2021 The Authors
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD100 Land Use H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications
JEL classification:	R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R12 - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R3 - Production Analysis and Firm Location > R30 - General R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R4 - Transportation Systems > R40 - General
Date Deposited:	22 Mar 2022 16:21
Last Modified:	15 Sep 2023 23:56
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/114437

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