THE MAKING OF THE MODERN METROPOLIS: EVIDENCE FROM LONDON

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Heblich, Stephan; Redding, Stephen J.; Sturm, Daniel M.
• 署名单位: University of Toronto; Leibniz Association; Institut fur Weltwirtschaft an der Universitat Kiel (IFW); National Bureau of Economic Research; Princeton University; Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR)
• 刊物名称: QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-5533
• DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjaa014
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 2059-2133
• 关键词: urban-growth; TRADE; IMPACT; migration; railroads; geography; demand; roads; time

摘要

Using newly constructed spatially disaggregated data for London from 1801 to 1921, we show that the invention of the steam railway led to the first large-scale separation of workplace and residence. We show that a class of quantitative urban models is remarkably successful in explaining this reorganization of economic activity. We structurally estimate one of the models in this class and find substantial agglomeration forces in both production and residence. In counterfactuals, we find that removing the whole railway network reduces the population and the value of land and buildings in London by up to 51.5% and 53.3% respectively, and decreases net commuting into the historical center of London by more than 300,000 workers.