Does a location’s growth benefit or suffer from being geographically close to large economic centers? Spatial proximity may lead to competition and hurt growth, but it may also improve market access and enhance growth. Using data on U.S. counties and metro areas for the period 1840–2017, we document this tradeoff between urban shadows and urban access. Proximity to large urban centers was negatively associated with growth between 1840 and 1920, and positively associated with growth after 1920. Using a two-city spatial model, we show that the secular evolution of inter-city and intra-city commuting costs can account for this. Alternatively, the long-run decline in inter-city shipping costs relative to intra-city commuting costs is also consistent with these observed patterns.

一个地区的增长受益于地理位置还是靠近大型经济中心？空间上的接近可能会导致竞争并损害增长，但也可能会改善市场准入并促进增长。使用1840年至2017年期间美国县和都会区的数据，我们记录了城市阴影与城市交通之间的这种权衡。靠近大型城市中心与1840年至1920年之间的增长呈负相关，与1920年之后的增长呈正相关。使用两城市空间模型，我们证明了城市间和城市内通勤成本的长期演变可以解释该问题。这个。另外，相对于城市通勤成本而言，城市间运输成本的长期下降也与这些观察到的模式一致。