The price is right
Urban demographic patterns in the United States often defy logic, but a new research paper co-authored by Harvard Kennedy School Professor Edward Glaeser is shedding light on why many Americans continue to move to cities that are on the downturn. “Unhappy Cities,” published by the National Bureau for Economic Research (NBER), unpacks the myriad factors that play a role in inducing people to relocate to metropolitan areas that they would otherwise not find suitable. “Self-reported unhappiness is high in [many] declining cities, and this tendency persists even when we control for income, race, and other personal characteristics,” the authors write. “Why are the residents of some cities persistently less happy? Given that they are, why do people choose to live in unhappy places?” Detroit was unhappy even during its heyday, but its residents were well-compensated for their joylessness, according to the study. In this photo, abandoned buildings line the streets during Detroit’s financial...