Do People in Cities Make More Because the Cities Make Them More Productive?

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There are three types of evidence on the urban wage premium. One is that people in cities make more because they're smarter, and there's an energy around them. The other two look at migrants' wages before and after they move to a city. And third looks at how much growth happens when you go away with your family. But do we really need all this data? We can't know for sure until we study it ourselves.

Why are fewer men working over the last few decades? Is a universal basic income a good policy for coping with the loss of employment? Economist Edward Glaeser of Harvard University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about what Glaeser calls the war on work--the policy changes that have reduced employment among prime-aged men. Glaeser does not see the universal basic income as a viable solution to the decrease in work especially if technology ends up reducing employment opportunities more dramatically in the future. The conversation also includes a discussion of the role of cities and the reduction in geographic mobility in the United States.