U.S. Micropolitan Area Growth: A Spatial Equilibrium Growth Analysis

Because U.S. micropolitan areas have only relatively recently been awarded official status, little is known about their comparative economic performance. Yet, since their inception economic performance among micropolitan areas has received considerable attention from the public and local area policymakers. This paper examines micropolitan area growth during the 1990s, a period of strong national growth. A spatial equilibrium growth framework and estimated reduced-form regressions containing an extensive number of variables are used to assess the sources of differentials in micropolitan area growth. Overall, differences in productivity growth appeared to primarily underlie micropolitan area growth differentials, though household amenities and the elasticity of housing supply also appeared to be nearly as important.