We show that isolated capital cities are robustly associated with greater levels of corruption across US states. In particular, this is the case when we use the variation induced by the exogenous location of a state's centroid to instrument for the concentration of population around the capital...

We compile a database of American city population densities from 1940 to 2000, which was not previously available publicly in an electronic format. Using this data set, we investigate trends in urban density patterns. Nonparametric estimates of urban density distributions suggest a distinct,...

To provide a more consistent definition than the traditional central city-suburb division, the urban core is defined as the extent of the built-up urban area in 1950 with the suburban periphery being the area added to the urban area thereafter. Population density in the urban core and suburban...

I study the impact of transportation on health in the rural US, 1820–1847. Measuring health by average stature, I find that greater transportation linkage, as measured by market access, in a cohort's county-year of birth had an adverse impact on its health. A one-standard deviation increase in...