The New Geography of Jobs - by Enrico Moretti (Paperback)

About the Book

In The New Geography of Jobs, award-winning Berkeley economist Enrico Moretti looks at the major shifts taking place in the US economy and reveals the surprising winners and losers -- specifically, which kinds of jobs will drive economic growth and where they'll be located -- while exploring how communities can transform themselves into dynamic innovation hubs.

Book Synopsis

In The New Geography of Jobs, award-winning Berkeley economist Enrico Moretti looks at the major shifts taking place in the US economy and reveals the surprising winners and losers ​-- ​specifically, which kinds of jobs will drive economic growth and where they'll be located ​-- ​while exploring how communities can transform themselves into dynamic innovation hubs.

"A timely and smart discussion of how different cities and regions have made a changing economy work for them ​-- ​and how policymakers can learn from that to lift the circumstances of working Americans everywhere." ​-- ​Barack Obama

We're used to thinking of the United States in opposing terms: red versus blue, haves versus have-nots. But today there are three Americas. At one extreme are the brain hubs ​-- ​cities like San Francisco, Boston, and Durham ​-- ​with workers who are among the most productive, creative, and best paid on the planet. At the other extreme are former manufacturing capitals, which are rapidly losing jobs and residents. The rest of America could go either way.

For the past thirty years, the three Americas have been growing apart at an accelerating rate. This divergence is one the most important developments in the history of the United States and is reshaping the very fabric of our society, affecting all aspects of our lives, from health and education to family stability and political engagement. But the winners and losers aren't necessarily who you'd expect.

Enrico Moretti's groundbreaking research shows that you don't have to be a scientist or an engineer to thrive in one of the brain hubs. Carpenters, taxi drivers, teachers, nurses, and other local service jobs are created at a ratio of five-to-one in the brain hubs, raising salaries and standard of living for all. Dealing with this split ​-- ​supporting growth in the hubs while arresting the decline elsewhere ​-- ​is the challenge of the century, and The New Geography of Jobs lights the way.

From the Back Cover

"A persuasive look at why some U.S. cities have prospered in recent decades while others have declined." "Bloomberg Businessweek"We re used to thinking of the United States in opposing terms: red versus blue, haves versus have-nots. But today there are "three "Americas. At one extreme are the brain hubs cities like San Francisco, Boston, and Durham with workers who are among the most productive, creative, and best paid on the planet. At the other extreme are former manufacturing capitals, which are rapidly losing jobs and residents. The rest of America could go either way. For the past thirty years, the three Americas have been growing apart at an accelerating rate. This divergence is one the most important developments in the history of the United States and is reshaping the very fabric of our society, affecting all aspects of our lives, from health and education to family stability and political engagement. But the winners and losers aren t necessarily who you d expect.Enrico Moretti s groundbreaking research shows that you don t have to be a scientist or an engineer to thrive in one of the brain hubs. Carpenters, taxi-drivers, teachers, nurses and other local service jobs are created at a ratio of five-to-one in the brain hubs, raising salaries and standard of living for all. Dealing with this split supporting growth in the hubs while arresting the decline elsewhere is the challenge of the century, and "The New Geography of Jobs" lights the way."Moretti has written a clear and insightful account of the economic forces that are shaping America and its regions, and he rightly celebrates human capital and innovation as the fundamental sources of economic development." Jonathan Rothwell, The Brookings Institution[AU Photo] Enrico Moretti is Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the recipient of several international honors, including a Fulbright Fellowship and the IZA Young Labor Economist Award. His research is supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and several private foundations and has been featured in the "New York Times," "Wall Street Journal," "Forbes, " "CNN, PBS," and "NPR," among others.

"

Review Quotes

"Moretti has written the most important book of the year, I can't recommend it enough. The Cal-Berkeley economic professor's book is extremely necessary for politicians and commentators alike, book that artfully slays myriad myths that cloud the economic debate. Brilliant."
--Forbes 　 "Enrico Moretti is a first-rate empirical researcher who has taught us much about the geographic impact of human capital and a variety of public investments. His book, The New Geography of Jobs, is well-written and filled with important facts and wise policy advice. It is an excellent addition to the literature on the economics of place. [...] Both local policymakers and national leaders interested in policies with a geographical edge would do well to read the book."
--Edward Glaeser, author of The Triumph of the City 　 "Decade after decade, smart and educated people flock away from Merced, Calif., Yuma, Ariz., Flint, Mich., and Vineland, N.J. In those places, less than 15 percent of the residents have college degrees. They flock to Washington, Boston, San Jose, Raleigh-Durham and San Francisco. In those places, nearly 50 percent of the residents have college degrees. As Enrico Moretti writes in　The New Geography of Jobs, the magnet places have positive ecologies that multiply innovation, creativity and wealth. The abandoned places have negative ecologies and fall further behind. This sorting is self-reinforcing, and it seems to grow more unforgiving every year."
--David Brooks,　The New York Times

"The New Geography of Jobs, examines how and why hiring is stronger in some U.S. cities than in others."
--PBS NewsHour 　 "[A] persuasive look at why some U.S. cities have prospered in recent decades while others have declined."
--Businessweek 　 "In a new book,　The New Geography of Jobs, University of California at Berkeley economics professor Enrico Moretti argues that for each job in the software, technology and life-sciences industries, five new jobs are indirectly created in the local economy. The jobs range from yoga instructors to restaurant owners. Mr. Moretti calculated such a multiplier effect by examining U.S. Census Bureau data from eight million workers in 320 areas during the past 30 years. Mr. Moretti says the data support the argument that technology innovators are one of the most important engines of job creation in the U.S.--with three of those five jobs going to people without college degrees."
--The Wall Street Journal 　 "Moretti has written a clear and insightful account of the economic forces that are shaping America and its regions, and he rightly celebrates human capital and innovation as the fundamental sources of economic development."
--The New Republic 　 "Compelling"
--Slate 　 "Whatever this month unemployment report turns out to be, it's probably not going to be great news for the Rust Belt. Best guesses are manufacturing jobs are still scarce. Meanwhile, new economy places like Silicon Valley continue to thrive. The difference? Location, location, location. So says economist Enrico Moretti in his latest book,　The New Geography of Jobs."
--NPR MarketPlace 　 "A bold vision."
--MIT Sloan Management Review 　 "It is a great and disturbing book about the sweeping changes that are going on in American communities."
--Reuters 　 "Moretti's book suggests that for each additional job in the average high-tech firm, five additional jobs are created outside that firm in the local community."
--NPR All Things Considered 　 "Economist Enrico Moretti finds that earnings of a high school graduate increase 7% for every 10% increase in the percent of people in a city that are college graduates. While having more high-skilled workers around tends to raise everyone's salaries, Moretti's research shows that low-skilled workers benefit four to five times more than college graduates. Even as liberals work to find a way to counteract the problem of the 1 percent, they should view high skilled immigrants as a step toward turning America back into a true middle-class society."
--The Atlantic 　 "Professor Moretti is a visionary scholar and one of the most important new voices in economics."
--The Costa Report 　 "The book is an inviting read. It is dense with ideas, but spiced liberally with local detail"
--The Journal of Economic Geography 　 "[There is] a growing divide among American cities. The winners are metro areas like Raleigh, N.C.,　San Francisco, and Stamford C.T. where more than 40 percent of the adult residents have college degrees. [...] Metro areas like Bakersfield, Calif., Lakeland, Fla., and Youngstown, Ohio, where less than a fifth of the adult residents have college degrees, are being left behind. The divide shows signs of widening as college graduates gravitate to places with many other college graduates and the atmosphere that creates. 'This is one of the most important developments in the recent economic history of this country, ' said Enrico Moretti, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, who recently published a book on the topic,　The New Geography of Jobs"
--The New York Times 　 "The choice of where you live is the most important choice an American worker can make today."
--The Dylan Ratigan Show, MSNBC 　 "A fresh, provocative analysis of the debate on education and employment. . . A welcome contribution from a newcomer who provides both a different view and balance in addressing one of the country's more profound problems."
--Kirkus Reviews 　 "If there's one current book I'd recommend to leaders in American cities today, it's Enrico Moretti's The New Geography of Jobs."
--The Urbanophile 　 "Enrico Moretti's,　The New Geography of Jobs　has been exceptionally well received by many of the economic development literati. Some commentators have described　New Geography　as the best economic development book of 2013. And if you don't read　New Geography, you would also miss reading the best, most readable explanation and defense of innovation, knowledge-based economics and their effects on the location of jobs in the United States. There is a lot going on in　New Geography."
--Journal of Applied Research in Economic Development "An important new book."
--The American

"Prof. Moretti's findings are both significant and provocative."
--Institute for Research on Labor and Employment 　 　 "The New Geography of Jobs is arguably the most important book about urban economics published this year. Author Enrico Moretti, an Italian-born economics professor at Berkeley, analyzes the great divergence occurring between metropolitan regions in the United States. While much of his narrative about the innovation sector as the key driver in regional growth will be familiar to readers of Richard Florida, Moretti provides a valuable counter-balance to Florida's theories about the creative class."
--Bacon's Rebellion 　 "The book i

About the Author

ENRICO MORETTI is a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, whose research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, and has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Slate, among other publications.