The New Geography of Jobs

Enrico Moretti

• Publisher: Harper Business
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9780544028050
• eBook ISBN: 9780547750149
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: IT Industry
• Index: Economics

"A timely and smart discussion of how different cities and regions have made a changing economy work for them—and how policymakers can learn from that."?—Barack Obama
We're used to thinking of the United States in opposing terms: red versus blue, haves versus have-nots. But today there are three Americas. At one extreme are the brain hubs—cities like San Francisco, Boston, and Durham—with workers who are among the most productive, creative, and best paid on the planet. At the other extreme are former manufacturing capitals, which are rapidly losing jobs and residents. The rest of America could go either way.
For the past thirty years, the three Americas have been growing apart at an accelerating rate. This divergence is one of the most important developments in the history of the United States. But the winners and losers aren't necessarily who you'd expect.
Enrico Moretti's groundbreaking research shows that you don't have to be a scientist or an engineer to thrive in one of the brain hubs. Taxi drivers, teachers, nurses, and other local service jobs are created at a ratio of five-to-one in the brain hubs, raising salaries and standard of living for all. Dealing with this split—supporting growth in the hubs while arresting the decline elsewhere—is the challenge of the century, and  The New Geography of Jobs lights the way.
"Brilliant." — Forbes
"Mr. Moretti says the data support the argument that technology innovators are one of the most important engines of job creation in the US" —Jessica E. Vascellaro,  Wall Street Journal
"Excellent" — The National Review
"A clear and insightful account of the economic forces that are shaping America." — The New Republic

Index

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

Academia, and commercial applications, 217–18

Academic stars, in biotech, 181, 264

Adaptation, need for, 148–53

Adobe, 122, 123, 124

Advanced Micro Devices, 85

Adventures of André and Wally B., The (movie), 46

Aerospace industry, 147, 148

Africa, and convergence, 16

African Americans

and crime-schooling relation, 229

in Great Migration, 156

Agell, Jose Luis, 136

Agglomeration, forces of. See Forces of agglomeration

Agriculture-to-industrialization shift in U.S., 37, 106

Air Force Academy, fitness experiment at, 111

Akron, 20

Albany, 88, 238

Albuquerque, 17

and Microsoft, 74–75, 76–77

and Seattle, 77–78

Alexandria, Louisiana, and cost of living, 169

Alexopoulos, Michelle, 52

Allen, Paul, 75, 77, 118

Altoona, Pennsylvania, and cost of living, 169

Amazon, 79, 136

American Apparel, 33

American Community Survey, 92

“American dream,” 20, 135

death of, 5–6

American Pastoral (Roth), 41–42

Amgen, 73, 263

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, 86

Anchorage, Alaska, and cost of living, 169, 170

Aniston, Jennifer, 56

Anniston, Alabama, 95, 169

Ann Arbor, 92, 94, 180

A123 Systems, 194

Apple, 9–11, 39, 53, 60, 82, 134, 136, 193, 218–19

Applied Materials, 85

Argentina, 132, 233

Artisanal workshops, 30

Assortative mating, 130

Atlanta, 16

and biotech industry, 180, 263

Empowerment Zone Program in, 211

August Capital, 136

Austin, Texas, 16, 83, 85–86, 89, 90, 190

college graduates in, 92, 94

and cost of living, 169

exciting celebrities in, 188

Austral Capital, 132

Australia, 232, 246

Austria, PISA scores of, 233

Automation, in production of PCs and semico...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Introduction
• American Rust
• Smart Labor: Microchips, Movies, and Multipliers
• The Great Divergence
• Forces of Attraction
• The Inequality of Mobility and Cost of Living
• Poverty Traps and Sexy Cities
• The New “Human Capital Century”
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• References
• Index
• About the Author
• Connect with HMH
• Footnotes