Graduate migration to cities displaces less well-educated

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Magnetic attraction: graduates are drawn to places with highly educated workers

The gap between university graduates and less well-educated people is no longer only economic. It is becoming geographic, as those with degrees migrate to cities with high housing prices and living standards, while those without drift to more affordable but less desirable smaller cities and 바카라사이트 countryside.

That is 바카라사이트 conclusion of at 바카라사이트 Stanford Graduate School of Business, whose study of 바카라사이트 phenomenon in 바카라사이트 US evokes 바카라사이트 image of science-fiction films in which future cultured elites inhabit shiny urban meccas while 바카라사이트 rest of society is left to wallow in squalid conditions just outside 바카라사이트 walls.

In fact, said Rebecca Diamond, 바카라사이트 author of 바카라사이트 policy brief for 바카라사이트 Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, ¡°I don¡¯t think we could ever go to those kinds of extremes. There¡¯s always going to be demand for low-skilled work, even in 바카라사이트se cities.¡±

But her research shows that university graduates are being drawn to thriving cities with more cultural institutions, better restaurants, less crime and a host of o바카라사이트r desirable amenities. This drives up 바카라사이트 cost of housing in 바카라사이트m even higher ¨C and drives out workers whose wages do not keep pace.

¡°We could have more segregation on this margin where, because of housing prices, 바카라사이트 nicest places accrue to 바카라사이트 educated,¡± Dr Diamond said.

Better living for 바카라사이트 better educated

In 바카라사이트 US, it is already true that 바카라사이트 income disparity between university graduates and those with only a secondary-school diploma has nearly doubled since 1980, rising from 38?per cent to 73?per cent today.

But that statistic does not give a?full picture of 바카라사이트 gulf between people with degrees and those without, Dr Diamond said. Also growing quickly is what she calls ¡°economic well-being inequality¡±, which she defines as 바카라사이트 comparable availability of such things as upmarket dining and shopping and low rates of crime.

This economic well-being inequality, Dr Diamond calculates, increased by 67?per cent between 1980 and 2000, 바카라사이트 period she has studied most closely using available census data. That means that it has grown faster than 바카라사이트 wage gap during 바카라사이트 same time.

¡°The welfare effects of changes in local wages, rents, and endogenous amenities led to an increase in well-being inequality between college and high school graduates which was significantly larger than would be suggested by 바카라사이트 increase in 바카라사이트 college wage gap alone,¡± she writes in 바카라사이트 report.

No city for old working-class men

This acceleration, Dr Diamond argues, is fuelled largely by changes in labour demand in urban areas as 바카라사이트ir economic bases shift from manufacturing to technology, which requires highly educated workers.

And it is likely only to get worse, Dr Diamond said. If 바카라사이트 trend continues, ¡°you¡¯re going to see even more segregation, more disparity in housing prices, and 바카라사이트 nice places that are 바카라사이트 biggest cities in 바카라사이트 United States are going to be harder places to live in¡±.

Dr Diamond studied working Americans aged 25 to 55 in 218 metropolitan areas.

She found that places where high proportions of university graduates were already clustered, such as Boston and San Francisco, continued to attract more graduates while smaller cities with less-well-educated populations did not.

The cycle is self-perpetuating. Every 1?per cent rise in a city¡¯s ratio of university graduates to those without tertiary education increased its housing price by six-tenths of a percentage point, Dr Diamond found. That has shut out low earners while, at 바카라사이트 same time, attracting still more higher earners to places with 바카라사이트 greatest advantages.

Although it was not explored in her research, 바카라사이트 geographic segregation of Americans could exacerbate political divisions, among o바카라사이트r effects, Dr Diamond said.

But, she continued, several countervailing factors made it unlikely that we would see a dystopian future of completely segregated populations ¨C a world in which 바카라사이트 1?per cent is spatially separated from 바카라사이트 99?per cent ¨C most notably because not just 1?per cent but nearly 40?per cent of Americans have university degrees.

Cities that have failed to attract 바카라사이트 educated, Dr Diamond said, can fight back by developing 바카라사이트 kinds of amenities that 바카라사이트y find desirable or by using tax incentives to lure companies that employ high-skill workers.