From Sectoral to Functional Urban Specialization / Gilles Duranton, Diego Puga.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Duranton, Gilles.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Puga, Diego.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w9112.

NBER working paper series no. w9112

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2002.

Summary:

Striking evidence is presented of a previously unremarked transformation of urban structure from mainly sectoral to mainly functional specialization. We offer an explanation showing that this transformation is inextricably interrelated with changes in firms' organization. A greater variety of business services for headquarters and of sector-specific intermediates for production plants within a city reduces costs, while congestion increases with city size. A fall in the costs of remote management leads to a transformation of the equilibrium urban and industrial structure. Cities shift from specializing by sector -- with integrated headquarters and plants -- to specializing mainly by function -- with headquarters and business services clustered in larger cities, and plants clustered in smaller cities.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2002.