This paper studies how the changing geographic distribution of skilled workers in the US affects theoretical models that use Gibrat's law to explain the size distribution of cities. In the empirical literature, a divergence hypothesis holds that college share increases faster in cities where...

Large metropolitan regions with pollution, congestion and high rents remain the supernatural economic places. The mystery of what exactly raises productivity in large cities continues. Going back to the famous pin factory of Adam Smith, the answer might be that city workers are able to...