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Discussion Paper Details

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Title: Task Specialization in U.S. Cities from 1880-2000

Author(s): Guy Michaels, Ferdinand Rauch and Stephen J. Redding

Publication Date: January 2013

Keyword(s): economic development, human interaction and urbanization

Programme Area(s): Development Economics and Labour Economics

Abstract: We develop a new methodology for quantifying the tasks undertaken within occupations using 3,000 verbs from around 12,000 occupational descriptions in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOTs). Using micro-data from the United States from 1880-2000, we find an increase in the employment share of interactive occupations within sectors over time that is larger in metro areas than non-metro areas. We provide evidence that this increase in the interactiveness of employment is related to the dissemination of improvements in transport and communication technologies. Our findings highlight a change in the nature of agglomeration over time towards an increased emphasis on human interaction.

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Bibliographic Reference

Michaels, G, Rauch, F and Redding, S. 2013. 'Task Specialization in U.S. Cities from 1880-2000'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=9308