Citation

Discussion Paper Details

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Title: Who gets the urban surplus?

Author(s): Paul Collier and Anthony Venables

Publication Date: April 2017

Keyword(s): cities, Land rent, productivity, sorting and wages

Programme Area(s): International Trade and Regional Economics

Abstract: High productivity in cities creates an economic surplus relative to other areas. How is this divided between workers and land-owners? Simple models with homogenous labour suggest that it accrues largely - or entirely - in the form of land-rents. This paper shows that heterogeneity of labour in two main dimensions (productivity differentials and housing demands) radically changes this result. Even a modest amount of heterogeneity can drive the land share of surplus down to 2/3rds or lower, as high productivity and/or low housing demand individuals receive large utility gains. In a system of cities the sorting of workers across cities mean that the land-rent share of surplus is lowest in the largest and most productive cities.

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Bibliographic Reference

Collier, P and Venables, A. 2017. 'Who gets the urban surplus? '. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=12001