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The role of income in the formation of new cities

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Abstract

The richest neighborhoods in the unincorporated suburbs have a stronger incentive to form a new city to escape the redistribution that is occurring there. Wealthy families also may desire to establish a new city if this enables the provision of government services that middle income voters would not fund.

With three different measures of household well being—based on educational attainment, income, and home values—we consistently found that the relatively wealthier neighborhoods were more likely to be part of a new city by the end of the decade. Population density also played a big role

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Correspondence to Lawrence W. Kenny.

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Kenny, L.W., Reinke, A. The role of income in the formation of new cities. Public Choice 149, 75 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-011-9829-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-011-9829-4

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