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The role of airports in city employment growth, 1950–2010

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  • McGraw, Marquise J.

Abstract

This study considers the effects of commercial airports on local economies over the post-World War II period (specifically, 1950–2010). To overcome endogeneity concerns, a pooled synthetic control event study strategy is employed on newly digitized historical aviation data to estimate treatment effects on a variety of employment, population, and wage outcomes. I find that airports have led to, on average, 3.9 percent growth in total employment (and 3.4% growth in population) per decade. Over the 30-year period for which wage and air traffic data are available, earnings per worker increased by 2%, and per-capita personal income increased by 3%, corresponding to growth rates of up to 1.2 percent per decade, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • McGraw, Marquise J., 2020. "The role of airports in city employment growth, 1950–2010," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:116:y:2020:i:c:s0094119020300115
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2020.103240
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    Cited by:

    1. Anca D. Cristea, 2023. "The role of aviation networks for urban development," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(4), pages 947-980, September.
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    4. Wu, Bingyu & Levinson, David M., 2024. "A multi-modal analysis of the effect of transport on population and productivity in China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    5. Mao, Xia & Chen, Xiao, 2023. "Does airport construction narrow regional economic disparities in China?," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    6. Sobieralski, Joseph B., 2021. "Transportation infrastructure and employment: Are all investments created equal?," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Airports; Local labor markets; Transportation; Employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L9 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities
    • N9 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics
    • R3 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location
    • R4 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics

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