2025/06/03 by Bryce Morsky, Morsky, Bryce
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #91D10 #FOS: Economics and business #FOS: Physical sciences #Migration and Labor Dynamics #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #Regional resilience and development #Theoretical Economics (econ.TH) #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2506.03384
openalex publication_date 2025/06/03 · openalex created_date 2025/09/26 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Many outputs of cities scale in universal ways, including infrastructure, crime, and economic activity. Through a mathematical model, this study investigates the interplay between such scaling laws in human organization and governmental allocations of resources, focusing on impacts to migration patterns and social welfare. We find that if superlinear scaling resources of cities -- such as economic and social activity -- are the primary drivers of city dwellers' utility, then cities tend to converge to similar sizes and social welfare through migration. In contrast, if sublinear scaling resources, such as infrastructure, primarily impact utility, then migration tends to lead to megacities and inequity between large and small cities. These findings have implications for policymakers, economists, and political scientists addressing the challenges of equitable and efficient resource allocation.