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Demography and Population Loss from Central Cities, 1950-2000

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  • Leah Platt Boustan
  • Allison Shertzer

Abstract

The share of metropolitan residents living in central cities declined dramatically from 1950 to 2000. We argue that cities would have lost even further ground if not for demographic trends such as renewed immigration, delayed child bearing, and a decline in the share of households headed by veterans. We provide causal estimates of the effect of children on residential location using the birth of twins. The effect of veteran status is identified from a discontinuity in the probability of military service during and after the mass mobilization for World War II. Our results suggest that these changes in demographic composition were strong enough to bolster city population but not to fully counteract socio-economic factors favoring suburban growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Leah Platt Boustan & Allison Shertzer, 2010. "Demography and Population Loss from Central Cities, 1950-2000," NBER Working Papers 16435, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:16435
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    2. Kyle Fee & Daniel Hartley, 2012. "The relationship between city center density and urban growth or decline," Working Papers (Old Series) 1213, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    3. Stephan D. Whitaker, 2023. "Understanding Migration Trends to Prepare for the Post-Pandemic Future," Cleveland Fed Regional Policy Report, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, issue 20230801, pages 1-32, August.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • N92 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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