Determinants of Geographic Living-Cost Differentials in the United States: An Empirical Note
研究了美国37个标准大都市统计区1975年生活成本差异的决定因素，发现这些差异显著影响国内人口迁移模式，对理解区域劳动力市场调整有参考价值。
In the United States, there exist enormous geographic differentials in the level of the cost of living. The existence of these large living-cost differentials has recently been shown to markedly influence geographic mobility patterns within the United States (see Cebula 1979, 1980; Renas and Kumar 1978, 1979; and Werthwein 1980). This may be very important because, as West, Hamilton, and Loomis (1976) and Cebula (1979) argue, given the stability of both birth and death rates, internal migration is likely to be the principal determinant of regional and interregional labor market adjustments in the United States. Given the apparent importance of geographic living-cost differentials in determining the spatial allocation of human resources in the United States, this paper seeks to investigate empirically the determinants of these differentials. Hopefully, a better knowledge of these determinants will provide us with improved insights into the factors that strongly influence both geographic real income differentials and the functioning of regional and interregional labor markets in the United States. The analysis focuses upon those 37 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) in the United States for which geographically comparable living-cost data and other needed data are available.' The year 1975 was the most recent year for which a completely satisfactory set of relevant data was available.