This paper provides some evidence that the division of labour is limited by the extent of the (local) market. We first propose a theoretical model. Its main prediction is that scarce occupations are over-represented in large cities. Using census data for French cities, we then provide strong...

Large cities produce more output per capita than small cities. This may occur because more talented individuals sort into large cities, because large cities select more productive entrepreneurs and firms, or because of agglomeration economies. We develop a model of systems of cities that...

This paper uses two recent UK surveys to investigate labour market performance, the determinants of language proficiency, and the effect of language on earnings and employment probabilities of non-white immigrants. Our results show that language acquisition, employment probabilities, as well as...

The striking geographical concentration of economic activities suggests that there are substantial benefits to agglomeration. The nature of those benefits remains unclear, however. In this Paper we take advantage of a new dataset to quantify the role of one of the main contenders: the matching...

The attitudes of ethnic majority populations towards other communities is a potentially important determinant of social exclusion and of the welfare of ethnic minorities. The suggestion that negative attitudes towards minorities may be affected by the ethnic composition of the locality in which...

There are large spatial disparities in unemployment durations across the 1,300 municipalities in the Paris region (Ile-de-France). In order to characterize these imbalances, we estimate a proportional hazard model stratified by municipality on an exhaustive dataset of all unemployment spells...

Recent empirical work has shown that there exists a negative relation between wages and unemployment estimated across regions. Our model recognizes the spatial dimension of the so-called wage-curve by using a Hotelling/Salop framework in which a finite number of firms compete for heterogeneous...

Using a matched employer-employee dataset on Italy we look at the spatial distribution of wages among provinces. We find evidence of both urbanization and market potential externalities, with the second one being more relevant. However, spatial sorting of skills is at work and explains a great...

We study the impact of job proximity on individual employment and earnings. The analysis exploits a Swedish refugee dispersal policy to get exogenous variation in individual locations. Using very detailed data on the exact location of all residences and workplaces in Sweden, we find that having...

Migration research has been quite successful in explaining changes in migration flows. Less satisfactory are its answers as to why the overwhelming majority of people remain immobile, despite persistent regional wealth differences and economic integration proceeding. We suggest complementing...