Urban Economics (UE)

Edward Glaeser, Director

The NBER's Working Group on Urban Economics brings together scholars working on the economics of cities. The overarching theme of the Group is the causes and consequences of metropolitan density, but it is interested in all areas of economics that touch on urban life. For example, the Group has a strong interest in local public finance and local tax issues. Agglomeration economies, which are so important to the success of cities, are also of primary concern. More generally, the Group involves papers on real estate, urban poverty, racial relations and segregation in cities, urban crime and other local amenities, and transportation technologies. The American city is undergoing a massive transformation: the high density cities of the nineteenth century are being replaced by lower density, car-oriented cities of today. That being the case, it is a particularly exciting period to work on the economics of urban areas. The Group will meet one or two times per year, and at some future point will try to assemble current research into an NBER conference volume.

Working Papers by NBER Working Group - UE