2018/01/01 by Pierre-Alexandre Balland, Pierre‐Alexandre Balland, Balland, Pierre-Alexandre +12 · 37 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Economic and Technological Innovation #Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis #Economic Growth and Productivity
paper · doi:10.1038/s41562-019-0803-3
Why do some economic activities agglomerate more than others? And, why does the agglomeration of some economic activities continue to increase despite recent developments in communication and transportation technologies? In this paper, we present evidence that complex economic activities concentrate more in large cities. We find this to be true for technologies, scientific publications, industries, and occupations. Using historical patent data, we show that the urban concentration of complex economic activities has been continuously increasing since 1850. These findings suggest that the increasing urban concentration of jobs and innovation might be a consequence of the growing complexity of the economy.