Abstract
This chapter investigates the effects of amenities—that is, attractive features that make a place more desirable to households and businesses—on the economic development of US regions. Gabe examines the impacts of pleasant weather, low crime, and businesses that provide “fun things to do” (e.g., recreation and arts, restaurants and bars, and music and book stores). Information presented in the chapter shows that warm and dry weather conditions support the growth of good jobs, but the other amenities considered do not have much of an impact on the economic development of the US metropolitan areas. To explain these findings, Gabe examines the large amounts that people are willing to pay—either through low wages or high housing costs—to live in amenity-rich areas.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Many of these studies build off a framework proposed by Gerald Carlino and Edwin Mills (1987). Focusing on states (and using a structural vector auto-regression approach), Mark Partridge and Dan Rickman (2003) find that people are slightly more apt to follow jobs, but it really depends on the exact setting.
- 2.
For example, Salinas, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz are among the 15-coolest metros for July high temperatures; while Los Angeles and Oxnard are among the 30-warmest metros for January low temperatures. San Luis Obispo and San Francisco are ranked 31st and 35th in terms of warmest January low temperatures, suggesting that these places have some of the mildest year-round temperatures.
- 3.
The climate variables—that is, January low temperature, July high temperature, and annual precipitation—are based on “30-year (1981 to 2010) normals” from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- 4.
Violent crime rates are from Uniform Crime Reporting program of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- 5.
Information on the share of arts and recreation establishments (as a percentage of all businesses) in 1990 is from County Business Patterns of the U.S. Census Bureau.
- 6.
Information on the share of restaurants and bars (as a percentage of all businesses) in 1990 is from County Business Patterns of the U.S. Census Bureau.
- 7.
Information on the share of book and music stores (as a percentage of all businesses) in 1990 is from County Business Patterns of the U.S. Census Bureau.
- 8.
Information on housing values and median household incomes is from the U.S. Census Bureau.
- 9.
San Luis Obispo is among the 15-coolest metros for July high temperatures, and this California metropolitan area is ranked 31st for warm January temperatures.
References
Brown M, Scott D (2012) Human capital location choice: Accounting for amenities and thick labor markets. Journal of Regional Science 52: 787–808.
Carlino G, Mills E (1987) The determinants of county growth. Journal of Regional Science 27: 39–54.
Deller S, Tsai TH, Marcouiller D, English D (2001) The role of amenities and quality of life in rural economic growth. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 83: 352–365.
Glaeser E (2011) Triumph of the City. The Penguin Press, New York.
Glaeser E, Kolko J, Saiz A (2001) Consumer city. Journal of Economic Geography 1: 27–50.
Gottlieb P (1994) Amenities as an economic development tool: Is there enough evidence?. Economic Development Quarterly 8: 270–285.
McGranahan D (1999) Natural amenities drive rural population change. Agriculture, Agricultural Economic Report No 781, September.
Partridge M, Rickman D (2003) The waxing and waning of regional economies: The chicken-egg question of jobs versus people. Journal of Urban Economics 53: 76–97.
Rappaport J (2007) Moving to nice weather. Regional Science and Urban Economics 37: 375–398.
Roback J (1982) Wages, rents, and the quality of life. Journal of Political Economy 90: 1257–1278.
Rosen S (1974) Hedonic prices and implicit markets: Product differentiation in pure competition. Journal of Political Economy 82: 34–55.
Scott A (2010) Jobs or amenities: Destination choices of migrant engineers in the USA. Papers in Regional Science 89: 43–63.
Storper M, Venables A (2004) Buzz: Face-to-face contact and the urban economy. Journal of Economic Geography 4: 351–370.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gabe, T.M. (2017). Amenities and the Growth of Good US Jobs. In: The Pursuit of Economic Development. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52476-4_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52476-4_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52475-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-52476-4
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)