Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-08DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103783
Kristian Behrens , Nathan Seegert
The growth of many cities and industries differs, with some growing slowly and others experiencing rapid change—i.e., rushes. To explain these differences and explore the mechanisms of growth, we develop a model centered on a new trade-off between time-varying fundamentals and time-invariant – but rank-dependent – opportunities. Early population flows depend on the opportunities new entities provide, whether from available land in cities or the accumulation of entrepreneurship human capital in firms. Our model can explain the existence of rushes and their size. We provide suggestive empirical evidence on city- and industry growth consistent with the model’s predictions.
{"title":"Rushing to opportunity: City growth and entrepreneurship","authors":"Kristian Behrens , Nathan Seegert","doi":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103783","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103783","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growth of many cities and industries differs, with some growing slowly and others experiencing rapid change—i.e., rushes. To explain these differences and explore the mechanisms of growth, we develop a model centered on a new trade-off between time-varying fundamentals and time-invariant – but rank-dependent – opportunities. Early population flows depend on the opportunities new entities provide, whether from available land in cities or the accumulation of entrepreneurship human capital in firms. Our model can explain the existence of rushes and their size. We provide suggestive empirical evidence on city- and industry growth consistent with the model’s predictions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48340,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Economics","volume":"149 ","pages":"Article 103783"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144572419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-08-25DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103799
Yi Liu , Yao Li , Jindong Pang
This paper investigates the impact of ride-sharing services on urban air pollution across 284 cities in China. While the theoretical implications of ride-sharing services on air quality remain ambiguous, empirical analysis of a daily panel dataset reveals that the introduction of ride-sharing services in a city significantly reduces urban air pollution levels. On average, cities experience at least a three percent decrease in air pollution following the launch of these services. Mechanism analysis indicates that ride-sharing services contribute to reduced peak-hour traffic congestion, a decline in new car registrations, and an increase in public transit ridership. These findings quantify the environmental benefits associated with ride-sharing services and provide valuable insights for policymakers seeking to regulate the ride-sharing industry and enhance urban air quality.
{"title":"JUE insight: Do ride-sharing services cause urban air pollution?","authors":"Yi Liu , Yao Li , Jindong Pang","doi":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103799","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103799","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the impact of ride-sharing services on urban air pollution across 284 cities in China. While the theoretical implications of ride-sharing services on air quality remain ambiguous, empirical analysis of a daily panel dataset reveals that the introduction of ride-sharing services in a city significantly reduces urban air pollution levels. On average, cities experience at least a three percent decrease in air pollution following the launch of these services. Mechanism analysis indicates that ride-sharing services contribute to reduced peak-hour traffic congestion, a decline in new car registrations, and an increase in public transit ridership. These findings quantify the environmental benefits associated with ride-sharing services and provide valuable insights for policymakers seeking to regulate the ride-sharing industry and enhance urban air quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48340,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Economics","volume":"149 ","pages":"Article 103799"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144893400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-06-02DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103782
Sumit Agarwal , Weida Kuang , Long Wang , Yang Yang
{"title":"Corrigendum to “The role of agents in fraudulent activities: Evidence from the housing market in Beijing” [Journal of Urban Economics, Volume 142, July 2024, 103668]","authors":"Sumit Agarwal , Weida Kuang , Long Wang , Yang Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103782","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103782","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48340,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Economics","volume":"149 ","pages":"Article 103782"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144298565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-04DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103788
Shiyu Bo, Yi Wang
In this paper, we examine the labor market outcomes of jurisdictional consolidation, focusing on the effect of city–county mergers in China between 2011 and 2018 on the wages of migrant workers and local residents. Under the merger reform, city districts were consolidated with nearby counties, expanding the jurisdiction under the centralized control of the prefecture government. Using a staggered difference-in-differences approach, we find that wages increased by 3.1% for migrant workers and 10.4% for local residents in consolidated jurisdictions. We attribute these effects to local economic growth and the resulting differentiated labor demand for migrant and local workers.
{"title":"The labor market outcomes of jurisdictional consolidation: Evidence from city–county mergers in China","authors":"Shiyu Bo, Yi Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103788","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103788","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper, we examine the labor market outcomes of jurisdictional consolidation, focusing on the effect of city–county mergers in China between 2011 and 2018 on the wages of migrant workers and local residents. Under the merger reform, city districts were consolidated with nearby counties, expanding the jurisdiction under the centralized control of the prefecture government. Using a staggered difference-in-differences approach, we find that wages increased by 3.1% for migrant workers and 10.4% for local residents in consolidated jurisdictions. We attribute these effects to local economic growth and the resulting differentiated labor demand for migrant and local workers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48340,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Economics","volume":"149 ","pages":"Article 103788"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144549677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-16DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103793
Quanlin Gu , Jia He , Wenlan Qian , Yuan Ren
This paper studies the effect of housing wealth shocks on workplace shirking. We use the type and actual time stamps of credit card transactions to detect non-work-related behavior during work hours. After a one-percentage-point increase in house prices, employed homeowners experienced a fast and persistent increase by 3.8 % per month in their propensity to use work hours to attend to personal needs. The post-shock response is more pronounced among homeowners with a greater wealth increase, with poorer career potential, or for occupations with higher monitoring costs.
{"title":"Housing booms and shirking","authors":"Quanlin Gu , Jia He , Wenlan Qian , Yuan Ren","doi":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103793","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103793","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper studies the effect of housing wealth shocks on workplace shirking. We use the type and actual <em>time stamps</em> of credit card transactions to detect non-work-related behavior during work hours. After a one-percentage-point increase in house prices, employed homeowners experienced a fast and persistent increase by 3.8 % per month in their propensity to use work hours to attend to personal needs. The post-shock response is more pronounced among homeowners with a greater wealth increase, with poorer career potential, or for occupations with higher monitoring costs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48340,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Economics","volume":"149 ","pages":"Article 103793"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144633545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-02DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103789
Mariaflavia Harari , Maisy Wong
We study the role of Dutch colonial institutions on urban development for the megacity of Jakarta, Indonesia. Using historical maps of Dutch settlements and a rich granular database, we implement a boundary discontinuity design comparing locations on either side of Dutch boundaries. We find that historical Dutch areas today have significantly lower parcel density, are more likely to have formally registered parcels, and have more regular parcel layout, pointing to the importance of planning and cadastral mapping. Dutch settlements are also more likely to appear formal, as per a photographic index that ranks the appearance of neighborhoods. We highlight the role of land market institutions over alternative channels, such as direct Dutch investments or natural advantage.
{"title":"Colonial legacy and land market formality","authors":"Mariaflavia Harari , Maisy Wong","doi":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103789","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103789","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We study the role of Dutch colonial institutions on urban development for the megacity of Jakarta, Indonesia. Using historical maps of Dutch settlements and a rich granular database, we implement a boundary discontinuity design comparing locations on either side of Dutch boundaries. We find that historical Dutch areas today have significantly lower parcel density, are more likely to have formally registered parcels, and have more regular parcel layout, pointing to the importance of planning and cadastral mapping. Dutch settlements are also more likely to appear formal, as per a photographic index that ranks the appearance of neighborhoods. We highlight the role of land market institutions over alternative channels, such as direct Dutch investments or natural advantage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48340,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Economics","volume":"149 ","pages":"Article 103789"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-30DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103795
Antung A. Liu , Yucheng Wang , Lei Zhang
Investments in urban light rail are meant to replace driving and alleviate emissions from road transportation, but little research has documented the direct link between alternative subway policies and gasoline consumption, leaving it unclear which subway policies are more efficient. Based on a unique dataset from a major gasoline retailer in China, this paper compares the effect of expanding the subway network with that of revising the fare. We find that both subway expansion and the fare change significantly impact gasoline consumption in the short run, but the effect of expanding the subway network is larger and more durable. A cost–benefit calculation also finds that subway network expansion is more cost-effective in reducing driving than changing the fare.
{"title":"The effect of subway policies on gasoline consumption: Subway expansion versus fare changes","authors":"Antung A. Liu , Yucheng Wang , Lei Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103795","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103795","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Investments in urban light rail are meant to replace driving and alleviate emissions from road transportation, but little research has documented the direct link between alternative subway policies and gasoline consumption, leaving it unclear which subway policies are more efficient. Based on a unique dataset from a major gasoline retailer in China, this paper compares the effect of expanding the subway network with that of revising the fare. We find that both subway expansion and the fare change significantly impact gasoline consumption in the short run, but the effect of expanding the subway network is larger and more durable. A cost–benefit calculation also finds that subway network expansion is more cost-effective in reducing driving than changing the fare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48340,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Economics","volume":"149 ","pages":"Article 103795"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144723923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-02DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103785
Christian Gillitzer , Nalini Prasad
We study the effects on the housing market of two macroprudential policies in Australia restricting credit supply to residential housing investors. The first policy placed a bank-level cap on mortgage credit growth to investors. The second policy placed a bank-level cap on interest-only lending, which is predominantly used by investors. Both policies caused a large and sharp reduction in new investor lending relative to new owner-occupier lending. Using unit-record data on property sales and listings, we show that the restrictions on investor lending reduced the share of properties purchased by investors and reduced the relative price of properties in investor segments of the market. Our results demonstrate the potential efficacy of macroprudential policy restricting credit supply to investors.
{"title":"The effects of macroprudential policy restricting housing investor credit supply","authors":"Christian Gillitzer , Nalini Prasad","doi":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103785","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103785","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We study the effects on the housing market of two macroprudential policies in Australia restricting credit supply to residential housing investors. The first policy placed a bank-level cap on mortgage credit growth to investors. The second policy placed a bank-level cap on interest-only lending, which is predominantly used by investors. Both policies caused a large and sharp reduction in new investor lending relative to new owner-occupier lending. Using unit-record data on property sales and listings, we show that the restrictions on investor lending reduced the share of properties purchased by investors and reduced the relative price of properties in investor segments of the market. Our results demonstrate the potential efficacy of macroprudential policy restricting credit supply to investors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48340,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Economics","volume":"149 ","pages":"Article 103785"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-08-26DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103797
Filipe Campante , Rui Du , Weizeng Sun , Jianghao Wang , Siqi Zheng
We show evidence of how political geography directly shapes real economic outcomes by studying the spatial impact on Beijing’s restaurant sector of China’s 2012 anti-corruption campaign, which placed strict limits on lavish spending by public officials. Restaurants located closer to government offices experienced a relative decline in consumer demand. The post-campaign distribution of establishments was less spatially concentrated around government offices and had a smaller presence of high-end restaurants than before the campaign. Our results underscore the role of political geography as a potent, spatially concentrated driver of demand and its influence on the configuration of economic activities.
{"title":"JUE insight: Political geography and the spatial allocation of economic activity: Evidence from China’s anti-corruption campaign","authors":"Filipe Campante , Rui Du , Weizeng Sun , Jianghao Wang , Siqi Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103797","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103797","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We show evidence of how political geography directly shapes real economic outcomes by studying the spatial impact on Beijing’s restaurant sector of China’s 2012 anti-corruption campaign, which placed strict limits on lavish spending by public officials. Restaurants located closer to government offices experienced a relative decline in consumer demand. The post-campaign distribution of establishments was less spatially concentrated around government offices and had a smaller presence of high-end restaurants than before the campaign. Our results underscore the role of political geography as a potent, spatially concentrated driver of demand and its influence on the configuration of economic activities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48340,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Economics","volume":"149 ","pages":"Article 103797"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144904506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-30DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103790
Hanchen Jiang , Luis Quintero , Xi Yang
This paper proposes and tests the hypothesis that rent control increases tenant unemployment. Using microdata from New York City between 2002 and 2017, we find that rent stabilization increases tenants’ probability of unemployment by more than four percentage points, and the effect is especially pronounced among tenants with unearned income. To address endogeneity concerns, we employ an instrumental variable strategy that exploits the local relative availability of rent-stabilized units at the time of move-in as an exogenous source of variation. We propose a job-search model to explain the disincentive channel underlying our results. These findings highlight the potential unintended consequences of rent control.
{"title":"Does rent control increase tenant unemployment?","authors":"Hanchen Jiang , Luis Quintero , Xi Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103790","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jue.2025.103790","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper proposes and tests the hypothesis that rent control increases tenant unemployment. Using microdata from New York City between 2002 and 2017, we find that rent stabilization increases tenants’ probability of unemployment by more than four percentage points, and the effect is especially pronounced among tenants with unearned income. To address endogeneity concerns, we employ an instrumental variable strategy that exploits the local relative availability of rent-stabilized units at the time of move-in as an exogenous source of variation. We propose a job-search model to explain the disincentive channel underlying our results. These findings highlight the potential unintended consequences of rent control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48340,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Urban Economics","volume":"149 ","pages":"Article 103790"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144723924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}