Buzz: Face-to-Face Contact and the Urban Economy.

This paper argues that existing models of urban concentrations are incomplete unless grounded in the mostfundamental aspect of proximity; face-to-face contact. Face-to-face contact has four main features; it is anefficient communication technology; it can help solve incentive problems; it can facili...

Celý popis

Podrobná bibliografie
Hlavní autoři: Storper, M, Venables, A
Médium: Working paper
Jazyk:English
Vydáno: Centre for Economic Performance, LSE 2003
Popis
Shrnutí:This paper argues that existing models of urban concentrations are incomplete unless grounded in the mostfundamental aspect of proximity; face-to-face contact. Face-to-face contact has four main features; it is anefficient communication technology; it can help solve incentive problems; it can facilitate socialization andlearning; and it provides psychological motivation. We discuss each of these features in turn, and developformal economic models of two of them. Face-to-face is particularly important in environments whereinformation is imperfect, rapidly changing, and not easily codified, key features of many creative activities.