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...

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书目详细资料
Main Authors: Storper, M, Venables, A
格式: Working paper
语言:English
出版: Centre for Economic Performance, LSE 2003
实物特征
总结: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.