Why do the poor live in cities The role of public transportation

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Urban Economics
Year: 2008
Volume: 63
Issue: 1
Pages: 1-24

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

More than 19 percent of people in American central cities are poor. In suburbs, just 7.5 percent of people live in poverty. The income elasticity of demand for land is too low for urban poverty to come from wealthy individuals' wanting to live where land is cheap (the traditional explanation of urban poverty). A significant income elasticity for land exists only because the rich eschew apartment living, and that elasticity is still too low to explain the poor's urbanization. The urbanization of poverty comes mainly from better access to public transportation in central cities.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:juecon:v:63:y:2008:i:1:p:1-24
Journal Field
Urban
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25