ABSTRACT

We calculate measures of economic complexity for US metropolitan areas for the period 1998–2015 based on employment data. We show that the concept translates well to the regional setting and to local and traded industries. Large cities and the Northeast have the highest complexity, while most traded industries are more complex than most local ones. In cross-section, metropolitan complexity is associated with higher incomes, though to a lesser extent recently than in the past. However, within-city increases in complexity from year to year are associated with income decreases. Our findings highlight the need for caution when interpreting the relationship between complexity and socioeconomic outcomes.

摘要

我们根据就业数据计算了 1998 年至 2015 年期间美国大都市区的经济复杂性指标。我们表明该概念可以很好地转化为区域环境以及当地和贸易行业。大城市和东北地区的复杂性最高，​​而大多数贸易行业比大多数地方复杂。在横截面上，大都市的复杂性与更高的收入相关，尽管最近的程度比过去小。然而，城市内的复杂性逐年增加与收入下降有关。我们的研究结果强调在解释复杂性与社会经济结果之间的关系时需要谨慎。