Cities and Growth: Human Capital Location Choice: Accounting for Amenities and Thick Labour Markets

Abstract

A growing literature has found a positive association between human capital and long-run employment growth across cities. These studies have increased interest in understanding the location choices of university degree-holders, a group often used as a proxy measure of human capital. Based on data from the 2001 Canadian Census of Population, this paper investigates determinants of the location choices of degree- and non-degree-holders. With a multinomial logit model, it tests a series of hypotheses about the differential effects of thick labor markets and amenities on the location choice of these groups across metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in Canada.

Keywords: agglomeration economies, amenities, human capital, labor market, migration, multinomial logit model, urban growth

JEL Classification: R11, R23