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Study: Scientists and engineers and urban growth

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The Daily


Tuesday, January 8, 2008
1980 to 2000

It is not just the prevalence of university graduates in a city that has a defining impact on the growth in employment, but their mix as well, according to a new study on the role of scientists and engineers in the process of job growth.

The study finds that it is the broad set of university degree holders in a city that is consistently connected to job growth. However, the effectiveness of this group is enhanced when combined with a higher share of scientists and engineers — specialized workers who are directly involved in developing and implementing innovations.

There was less evidence that degree holders working in culture occupations, on their own or through interactions with other types of degree holders, had a particularly strong impact on growth.

This study examined employment growth in Canadian and American cities. Using census data, it evaluated the link between long-run employment growth and the supply of different types of degree holders working in different types of occupations. It also examined whether the scientific capabilities of cities are related to amenities such as the size of the local cultural sector.

A previous study released in The Daily on May 4, 2006, showed that proportionally, scientists and engineers are just as prevalent in Canada as they are south of the border. In 2000 and 2001, scientists and engineers together accounted for 4.5% of paid employment in both countries.

This proportion nearly doubled in both nations during the previous two decades. In 1980 and 1981, scientists and engineers represented 2.6% of paid workers in the United States and 2.3% in Canada.

Link between scientists and engineers and the broader pool of university-educated workers located in cities

The study found a clear relationship between specialized workers such as scientists and engineers and the broader pool of university-educated workers located in cities.

Employment in science and engineering increased more rapidly in cities that started out with large and diverse concentrations of degree holders in non-science and non-cultural occupations, after controlling for a range of urban characteristics.


Note to readers

This study examines the link between the presence of university graduates and growth in Canadian and US cities. Using pooled Census of Population data from both countries on 242 urban centres, it evaluates the extent to which differences in long-run employment growth depend upon the supply of degree holders in different types of occupations.

It also examines whether the scientific capabilities of cities are influenced by amenities such as the size of the local cultural sector.

Data on Canadian cities were derived from 1981, 1991 and 2001 Canadian census files. Data on US cities were obtained from the 1980, 1990 and 2000 US census files. These sources provide detailed information on the locational, educational and occupational characteristics of various classes of workers.

The definition of science and engineering occupations used in this study derives from a classification structure developed by the National Science Foundation. The classification structure groups science and engineering occupations into five general categories: computer and mathematical scientists, life and related scientists, physical and related scientists, social and related scientists, and engineers.


These educated populations grow together. In addition, there was some evidence that stronger growth in this broader class of degree holders during the 1980s led to a subsequent acceleration of employment growth among scientists and engineers in the private sector during the 1990s.

The study used census data for 242 Canadian and US metropolitan areas to evaluate changes in urban employment from 1980 to 2000. The analysis focused on large and medium-sized cities — all metropolitan areas in Canada and the United States with populations over 100,000.

From 1980 to 2000, the workforce in the 242 cities evaluated in the report increased at an annual average pace of 1.8%.

But it increased more rapidly in cities in which university educated workers accounted for a relatively high proportion of total employment in 1980. During this 20-year period, the workforce in such cities rose at an annual average rate of 2.0%, compared with only 1.6% in cities with lower concentrations of university-educated workers.

These differences may appear to be small. However, if the growth were compounded over the 20-year period, a city in which the workforce grew at 2.0% a year would experience total job growth of 49%. The workforce in a city with a growth rate of 1.6% would grow by a more modest 37%.

The mix in university-educated workers mattered. Scientists and engineers are often seen to play a catalytic role regarding employment growth in cities. Here, the study found that the share of workers in science and engineering occupations, the "left brain" of cities, is closely connected to employment growth when these workers are located in cities with large and diverse pools of university-educated workers.

Parallel to the performance of firms

The study also noted that this relationship between growth and diversity had a parallel in research that has examined the growth and performance of firms.

Companies that excel in the marketplace are often those that develop an array of complementary business skills across a broad set of strategic areas, such as human resource management, marketing and financing.

If firms require a broad set of skills to be successful, it is not surprising that the same may hold for cities.

Urban amenities: Job growth related as much to quality of life as to the prevalence of university graduates

Statistical models developed for the study also suggested that a city's amenities play a central role in shaping urban dynamics.

A broad-based measure of urban amenities, which captures a range of factors related to the quality of life that a city provides, is closely related to urban growth. Cities that have higher amenities exhibit stronger employment growth, after differences in worker skills are taken into account.

From 1980 to 2000 employment in cities with high amenities increased at an annual average rate of 2.1%, compared with 1.4% for those with low amenities.

However, the study found less evidence that the growth of science and engineering workers alone was influenced by different measures of urban amenities, such as differences in climate and culture.

The research paper "Cities and growth: The left brain of North American cities: Scientists and engineers and urban growth" (11-622-MIE2008017, free) is now available as part of The Canadian Economy in Transition series from the Publications module of our website.

More studies related to economic geography are available free of charge (/studies-etudes/econo-eng.htm).

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Mark Brown (613-951-7292) or Guy Gellatly (613-951-3758), Micro-economic Analysis Division.