Abstract

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This paper examines the growth of human capital in Canadian and U.S. cities. Using pooled Census of Population data for 242 urban centres, we evaluate the link between long-run employment growth and the supply of different types of skilled labour. The paper also examines whether the scientific capabilities of cities are influenced by amenities such as the size of the local cultural sector.

The first part of the paper investigates the contribution of broad and specialized forms of human capital to long-run employment growth. We differentiate between employed degree holders (a general measure of human capital) and degree holders employed in science and cultural occupations (specific measures of human capital). Our growth models investigate long-run changes in urban employment from 1980 to 2000, and control for other factors that have been posited to influence the growth of cities. These include measures of amenities that capture differences in the attractiveness of urban areas.

The second part of the paper focuses specifically on a particular type of human capital—degree holders in science and engineering occupations. Our models evaluate the factors associated with the medium- and long-run growth of these occupations. Particular attention is placed on disentangling the relationships between science and engineering growth and other forms of human capital.

Keywords: urban growth, human capital, scientists and engineers, urban amenities