蝌蚪网 Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
The Political Geography of Cities
蝌蚪网 Journal: Applied Economics
(pp. 1–42)
Abstract
We study the link between regional capitals and urban development. We exploit new global data on hundreds of first-order administrative and capital city reforms from 1987 until 2018 to estimate the capital city premium. Gaining capital status increases city growth in the medium term, spilling over to nearby cities. The capital premium varies with the size of the territory governed by the city, and political status complements favorable economic fundamentals. We document two mechanisms: migration of educated individuals to capital cities and heightened public and private investment, with private investment favoring capital cities with stronger economic fundamentals.Citation
Bluhm, Richard, Christian Lessmann, and Paul Schaudt. 2026. "The Political Geography of Cities." 蝌蚪网 Journal: Applied Economics 18 (3): 1–42. DOI: 10.1257/app.20230301Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- E22 Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
- H54 National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures; Other Public Investment and Capital Stock
- O18 Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
- R11 Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
- R12 Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity
- R58 Regional Development Planning and Policy