Martin Prosperity Institute

by Brian J. Hracs   Abstract: This paper explores the limitations of the D.I.Y. model of music production and the recent shift towards  re-specialization in Toronto, Canada. It is argued that freelance managers are re-emerging as key intermediaries who catalyze and facilitate new organizational forms and strategic partnerships between creative workers. Attention is paid to [...]

by Jaison Abel, Todd Gabe and Kevin Stolarick   Abstract: This paper examines differences in the skill content of work throughout the United States, ranging from densely populated city centers to isolated and sparsely populated rural areas. To do so, we classify detailed geographic areas into categories along the entire urban-rural hierarchy. An occupation-based cluster [...]

by Brian J. Hracs, Doreen Jakob and Atle Hauge Abstract: Geographers have studied the complex relationships between cultural production, consumption and space for some time but the marketplace for cultural products is being reconfigured by digital technologies and broader societal trends. For producers of fashion and music the contemporary marketplace is a double-edged sword featuring [...]

by Kevin Stolarick Abstract: The landscape of education, the individual returns to education, and the wage benefits associated with the attainment of improved educational levels has been changing across Canada for the past several decades. While some of these changes have been noted in previous work, a complete picture covering the 35 year period of [...]

By Joseph Yi and Daniel Silver Abstract: This article explores how local organizations and amenities create “scenes,” which in turn correlate with neighborhood racial and socioeconomic diversity. We stress two key variables: internal, organizational authority and external framing. Organizations that combine high levels of internal authority with “outsider,” neutral framing create scenes associated with a [...]

by Peter J. Rentfrow, Charlotta Mellander, Richard Florida, Brian Hracs and Jeff Potter Abstract: Music spans many styles and genres, and previous research has identified five major categories of music preferences: mellow, unpretentious, sophisticated, intense, and contemporary. Our research examines the geographic variation in these five categories of music preferences and the socio-economic factors that [...]

by Charlotta Mellander and Richard Florida Abstract: The past couple of decades have seen what amounts to skills revolution in urban and regional economic research.  From industrial location theory and Alfred Marshall’s concern for agglomeration to more recent research on high-tech districts and industrial clusters firms and industries has been the dominant unit of analysis.  [...]

by Richard Florida and Charlotta Mellander Abstract: This study examines the effects of post-industrial socio-economic structures on the geographic variation in smoking and obesity. Our central hypothesis is that geographic variation in levels of both smoking and obesity will be systematically associated with the geographic distribution of factors associated with post-industrial metros such as human [...]

by Richard Florida, Charlotta Mellander and Patrick Adler Summary: This essay locates the creative class in broader discussions of creative cities. The first section offers a brief history of the “creative city” concept and its precursors. The second section discusses the creative class theory and the ongoing dialogue and debate over it crystallized. The last [...]

by Todd Gabe and Richard Florida   Abstract This paper examines the effects of the housing boom of the early 2000s on unemployment in U.S. metropolitan areas. A region’s share of housing units built between 2000 and 2006 has a negative effect or no influence on unemployment prior to the recession of the late 2000s, [...]