Essays on Places and Economic Inequality

Abstract

This dissertation uses changes across space to understand economic inequality. Chapter one examines people’s ties to places. If people are tied to places by family and experiences, then welfare will be less equal across space. It presents evidence that this is the case, with formulae that show how this makes local policies less wasteful in declining areas. Chapter two shows that young adults, ages 25 to 35, who live in the same neighborhoods as their parents experience stronger earnings recoveries after a job displacement than those who live farther away. It presents some evidence that these differences are driven by parental help with grandchildren and perhaps help from parents in identifying new jobs. Chapter three uses changes in housing prices and rents to study inequality in standards of living. It suggests that changes in income inequality since 1930 have caused similar changes in housing expenditures, mostly through changes in the value of particular neighborhoods.