Urban Escalators and Interregional Elevators: The Difference that Location, Mobility, and Sectoral Specialisation Make to Occupational Progression

• DOI: 10.1068/a130125p
• Publication Date: 2015-03-23T14:11:14Z
• Authors: Ian Gordon; Tony Champion; Mike Coombes
• Keywords: Relocation; Urban agglomeration; Capital city; Elevator

This paper uses evidence from the Longitudinal Study for England and Wales to examine influence on occupational advancement of city-region residence (an escalator effect) relocation between city-regions elevator effect). It shows both effects be substantively important, though less so than sector employment. Elevator are found associated with moves slacker tighter regional labour markets. Escalator effects, other hand, linked in larger urban agglomerations, not specifically London, but also across most Greater South East second-order or third-order elsewhere. Sectoral particularly strong knowledge-intensive activities, concentrations these, as advanced job types (rather graduate labour), contributing strongly more dynamic city-regional escalators. The impact geographic is vary substantially observed unobserved personal characteristics, being stronger young those whose attributes (eg, human capital) generally boost rates advance.