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City Growth and the 2000 Census: Which Places Grew, and Why

Edward Glaeser and Jesse M. Shapiro
EGaJMS
Edward Glaeser and Jesse M. Shapiro

May 1, 2001



The growth of cities in the 1990s has generated headlines lately, but what factors contributed to population growth? Why have some cities gained while others lost? A variety of attributes that a particular city might have had in 1990 can explain whether it grew or shrunk over the decade. Some of these attributes are susceptible to policy fixes, while others are not. This survey uses 2000 Census data to examine and explain the patterns that describe which cities grew in the last decade and which did not.

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