Agglomeration Premium in Polycentric Cities
This paper presents a model that generalizes the Alonso-Muth-Mills framework so that it can be more applicable to a setting with polycentricity and agglomeration-induced effects on income. More specifically, income has two components: an endogenous location- based component, which varies based on factors endogenous to the model, and a wealth-based component, which does not depend on location and which exhibits exogenous variation. The endogenous portion of income increases when population density increases as a result of an agglomeration-induced income premium. The income premium is a result of firms being able to find better employee matches in areas with higher population density. The paper concludes by exploring the spatial dynamics present in the spatial equilibrium. Particular attention is paid to equilibrium utility levels between different wealth groups.