Publications
Publications
JUE Insights: The Role of Establishment Size in the City-Size Premium (with Charly Porcher and Hannah Rubinton) - Journal of Urban Economics, 2023
Abstract: Both large establishments and large cities are known to offer workers an earnings premium. In this paper, we show that these two premia are closely linked by documenting a new fact: when workers move to a large city, they also move to larger establishments. We then ask how much of the city-size earnings premium can be attributed to transitions to larger and better-paying establishments. Using administrative data from Spain, we find that 38 percent of the city-size earnings premium can be explained by establishment-size composition. Most of the gains from the transition to larger establishments realize in the short-term upon moving to the large city. Establishment size explains 29 percent of the short-term gains, but only 5 percent of the medium-term gains that accrue as workers gain experience in the large city. The small contribution to the medium-term gains is due to two facts: first, within large cities workers transition to large establishments only slightly faster than in smaller cities; second, the relationship between earnings and establishment size is weaker in large cities.
Small Teams in Big Cities: Are Technology Differences Across Cities Optimal? - revise & resubmit at American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
Abstract: Larger cities offer higher earnings and a smaller span of control, that is, fewer workers per manager. This suggests a technological trade-off between higher productivity and the ability to expand the span of control. I characterize the trade-off for a set of US cities by estimating a spatial model of production hierarchies. In high-productivity cities, production problems are more difficult and costly to communicate. As a result, cities find it optimal to locate on different points of a technology frontier. I quantify the effect of homogenizing technology vertically, bringing cities to the frontier, and horizontally, moving cities along the frontier.
Delayed Childbearing and Urban Revival: A Structural Approach (with Ana Moreno-Maldonado) New Draft!
Abstract: Neighborhood amenities, such as nurseries or restaurants, cater to the local presence of children. This creates a two-way causal relationship between urban structure and aggregate fertility. In this paper, we focus on the link between urban revival and delayed childbearing. As high-income households postpone parenthood, they increase their presence downtown, shaping the supply of local amenities. As a result, it becomes more attractive to live downtown and to delay childbearing. To quantify this mechanism, we build a dynamic spatial model with endogenous fertility. The estimation exploits variation in access to infertility treatments to identify the response of amenities to the share of childless households. Delayed childbearing account for 7.5% of observed urban revival directly, and up to 60% when housing prices and amenities adjust. Moreover, modeling fertility choices allows us to examine how urban change contributed to fertility decline. Our results reveal important demographic implications of spatial dynamics.
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