City buzz: Quantity, quality, and variety implications of the urban environment

Introduction

This research project aims to understand the changing landscape of cities. These are cities where face-to-face interactions happen less around office water coolers and more on the streets; where individuals not only produce differently by location but also have heterogeneous consumption; and where, beyond the adoption of working from home, the transformation of work involves a reorganisation of firms' establishments and hierarchies across locations.

Methodology for Face-to-Face Interactions

To capture face-to-face interactions accurately, we use anonymised cellphone records to identify spatial and temporal overlaps among users who also have phone conversations. By combining location and call data, meaningful interactions are distinguished from passing strangers, while quantifying social connectivity and distinguishing between strong and weak ties.

The project examines variations in quantity, quality, and diversity of face-to-face interactions across spatial contexts. It isolates the effects of the urban environment from personal characteristics by studying individual changes following shocks.

Consumption Differences Across Locations

The project also investigates consumption differences across locations. It uses anonymised credit card data to examine the quantity, quality, and variety of consumption venues, going beyond locally available venues to explore how individuals utilise them and accounting for endogenous amenities and location choices.

We consider co-consumption evidence, residence, and job information to understand leisure interactions among neighbours, co-workers, and friends.

Changes in Hierarchical Organisation of Firms

Finally, we explore changes in the hierarchical organisation of firms across space. Using matched employer-employee data and a model of cities and hierarchies, we investigate how firms organise establishments and managerial hierarchies across locations.

Moreover, we examine the relationship between systematic differences in firms' hierarchies across cities and workers' progression to explain the city-size earnings premium.