More on the rural economy

July 2, 2008 6:26 am

Those who were interested by my column this weekend about the inherent vulnerability of rural economies may enjoy this piece by Charles Wheelan, the Naked Economist:

Surgeons need to be near major medical centers. Graphic designers need to be near advertising firms. Securities lawyers need to be near investment banks. As an economy gets more productive, it also gets more specialized. Each of us gets very good at a highly specific task, but that usually means that we need to be around other workers with complementary skills.

I could probably write this column from the middle of Pennsylvania, but I wouldn’t be able to teach graduate students there, which is my “day job.” Could you do your job in a small town in Kansas? Or, with the rise in the number of dual professional couples, the appropriate question is: Could you and your spouse do your jobs in a small town in Kansas?

The whole thing is here.

Posted in Everyday economics |
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Tim Harford’s blog

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Tim, also known as the Undercover Economist, writes about the economics of everyday life.

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