Review of Economic Studies · 2023 · Victor Couture、Cécile Gaubert、Jessie Handbury、Erik Hurst
中文摘要
本文探讨收入分布顶端群体收入增长对美国大城市内部空间分选格局的影响。我们构建并量化了一个城市空间模型，其中包含异质性主体、对社区的非位似偏好，以及内生决定的便利设施质量。随着富人愈加富裕，其对市中心社区优质便利设施的需求不断上升。需求上升推高了房价，并促进了市中心更高品质社区的开发。市中心的这种绅士化使原有贫困居民的境况恶化，因为他们要么被迫迁往郊区，要么为其并不十分看重的便利设施支付更高租金。我们量化了这一过程对福祉不平等的相应影响。通过量化模型的分析，1990年至2014年收入分布的变化引发了城市地区内部的社区变迁和空间重新分选，使较富裕家庭相对于较贫困家庭的福利有所提高，而这一影响超出了名义收入不平等加剧本身所带来的作用。
Abstract
Abstract We explore the impact of rising incomes at the top of the distribution on spatial sorting patterns within large U.S. cities. We develop and quantify a spatial model of a city with heterogeneous agents and non-homothetic preferences for neighbourhoods with endogenous amenity quality. As the rich get richer, demand increases for the high-quality amenities available in downtown neighbourhoods. Rising demand drives up house prices and spurs the development of higher quality neighbourhoods downtown. This gentrification of downtowns makes poor incumbents worse off, as they are either displaced to the suburbs or pay higher rents for amenities that they do not value as much. We quantify the corresponding impact on well-being inequality. Through the lens of the quantified model, the change in the income distribution between 1990 and 2014 led to neighbourhood change and spatial resorting within urban areas that increased the welfare of richer households relative to that of poorer households, above and beyond rising nominal income inequality.