IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/shf/wpaper/2015022.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Household location and income: a spatial analysis for British cities

Author

Listed:
  • David Cuberes

    (Clark University)

  • Jennifer Roberts

    (Department of Economics, University of Sheffield)

Abstract

Using information on the exact location of urban households in Britain for the period 2009-2013 we explore the validity of standard urban land use models by estimating the extent to which distance of residence from the city centre is a function of income. This is the first study of its kind for British cities. After controlling for household characteristics and access to transport, as well as city and time effects, and taking account of both spatial and serial correlation, we find a strong positive association between household’s income and distance from the city centre. We also estimate the income elasticity of demand for land and find that this is not large enough to support the view that richer households locate further from the city centre mainly because they prefer larger dwellings. Finally, we find that while poorer households live closer to the city centre, they have experienced increasing real incomes over the period relative to those who live further away. This supports the view that cities in Britain attract poor people rather than generate poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • David Cuberes & Jennifer Roberts, 2015. "Household location and income: a spatial analysis for British cities," Working Papers 2015022, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:shf:wpaper:2015022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/economics/research/serps/articles/2015_022
    File Function: First version, October 2015
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Manning, Alan, 2003. "The real thin theory: monopsony in modern labour markets," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 105-131, April.
    2. Fujita,Masahisa, 1991. "Urban Economic Theory," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521396455, October.
    3. Eva Gutiérrez-i-Puigarnau & Ismir Mulalic & Jos N. van Ommeren, 2016. "Do rich households live farther away from their workplaces?," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 177-201.
    4. Brueckner, Jan K. & Thisse, Jacques-Francois & Zenou, Yves, 1999. "Why is central Paris rich and downtown Detroit poor?: An amenity-based theory," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 91-107, January.
    5. Jan K. Brueckner & Stuart S. Rosenthal, 2009. "Gentrification and Neighborhood Housing Cycles: Will America's Future Downtowns Be Rich?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(4), pages 725-743, November.
    6. Brueckner, Jan K., 2011. "Lectures on Urban Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262016362, April.
    7. McKinnish, Terra & Walsh, Randall & Kirk White, T., 2010. "Who gentrifies low-income neighborhoods?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 180-193, March.
    8. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Nicolai Wendland, 2010. "How Polycentric is a Monocentric City? The Role of Agglomeration Economies," EERI Research Paper Series EERI_RP_2010_24, Economics and Econometrics Research Institute (EERI), Brussels.
    9. Rosenthal, Stuart S. & Ross, Stephen L., 2015. "Change and Persistence in the Economic Status of Neighborhoods and Cities," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1047-1120, Elsevier.
    10. Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), 2015. "Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 5, number 5.
    11. Glaeser, Edward L. & Kahn, Matthew E. & Rappaport, Jordan, 2008. "Why do the poor live in cities The role of public transportation," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 1-24, January.
    12. Wheaton, William C, 1977. "Income and Urban Residence: An Analysis of Consumer Demand for Location," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(4), pages 620-631, September.
    13. George C. Galster, 2005. "Consequences From the Redistribution of Urban Poverty During the 1990s: A Cautionary Tale," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 19(2), pages 119-125, May.
    14. Alasdair Rae, 2012. "Spatially Concentrated Deprivation in England: An Empirical Assessment," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(9), pages 1183-1199, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Cities' households geographic distributions
      by Inaki Villanueva in Applied economist on 2016-02-14 14:00:00

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tabuchi, Takatoshi, 2023. "Backward-bending labor supply and urban location," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    2. Tabuchi, Takatoshi, 2019. "Do the rich and poor colocate in large cities?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    3. Mariya Letdin & Hyoung S. Shim, 2019. "Location choice, life cycle and amenities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 567-585, June.
    4. Meng Le Zhang & Gwilym Pryce, 2020. "The dynamics of poverty, employment and access to amenities in polycentric cities: Measuring the decentralisation of poverty and its impacts in England and Wales," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(10), pages 2015-2030, August.
    5. TABUCHI Takatoshi, 2018. "Where Do the Rich Live in a Big City?," Discussion papers 18020, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gaigné, Carl & Koster, Hans R.A. & Moizeau, Fabien & Thisse, Jacques-François, 2022. "Who lives where in the city? Amenities, commuting and income sorting," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    2. Tabuchi, Takatoshi, 2019. "Do the rich and poor colocate in large cities?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    3. Hybel, Jesper & Mulalic, Ismir, 2022. "Transportation and quality of life," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 107-125.
    4. Hybel, Jesper & Mulalic, Ismir, 2021. "Transportation and Quality of Life: Evidence from Denmark," Working Papers 14-2021, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics.
    5. Rosenthal, Stuart S. & Ross, Stephen L., 2015. "Change and Persistence in the Economic Status of Neighborhoods and Cities," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1047-1120, Elsevier.
    6. Cuberes, David & Roberts, Jennifer & Sechel, Cristina, 2019. "Household location in English cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 120-135.
    7. Carl Gaigné & Hans R.A. Koster & Fabien Moizeau & Jacques-François Thisse, 2017. "Amenities and the Social Structure of Cities," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes & University of Caen) 2017-07, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes, University of Caen and CNRS.
    8. Duranton, Gilles & Puga, Diego, 2015. "Urban Land Use," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 467-560, Elsevier.
    9. Carl Gaigne & Hans R.A. Koster & Fabien Moizeau & Jacques-François Thisse, 2020. "Income Sorting Across Space: The Role of Amenities and Commuting Costs," Working Papers SMART 20-06, INRAE UMR SMART.
    10. Eva Gutiérrez-i-Puigarnau & Ismir Mulalic & Jos N. van Ommeren, 2016. "Do rich households live farther away from their workplaces?," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 177-201.
    11. Waights, Sevrin, 2018. "Does gentrification displace poor households? An ‘identification-via-interaction’ approach," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 88691, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. TABUCHI Takatoshi, 2018. "Where Do the Rich Live in a Big City?," Discussion papers 18020, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    13. Boje-Kovacs, Bence & Egsgaard-Pedersen, Aske & Weatherall, Cecilie D., 2021. "Residential mobility and persistent neighborhood deprivation," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    14. Takayama, Yuki, 2018. "Time-varying congestion tolling and urban spatial structure," MPRA Paper 89896, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Francis Ostermeijer & Hans R A Koster & Jos van Ommeren & Victor Mayland Nielsen, 2022. "Automobiles and urban density [Urban spatial structure]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(5), pages 1073-1095.
    16. Yinger, John, 2021. "The price of access to jobs: Bid-function envelopes for commuting costs✰," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    17. Atuesta, Laura H. & Hewings, Geoffrey J.D., 2019. "Housing appreciation patterns in low-income neighborhoods: Exploring gentrification in Chicago," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 35-47.
    18. Miquel‐Àngel Garcia–Lopez & Rosella Nicolini & José Luis Roig, 2020. "Segregation and urban spatial structure in Barcelona," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(3), pages 749-772, June.
    19. Xu, Hangtian, 2019. "The burst of the real estate bubble as a promoter of gentrification in Tokyo and Osaka, 1980–2017," MPRA Paper 96803, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Stef Proost & Jacques-François Thisse, 2019. "What Can Be Learned from Spatial Economics?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 57(3), pages 575-643, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    urban poverty; cities; segregation by income;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:shf:wpaper:2015022. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Mike Crabtree (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/desheuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.