JUE Insight: Urban flight seeded the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States

Joshua Coven, Arpit Gupta and Iris Yao

Journal of Urban Economics, 2023, vol. 133, issue C

Abstract: We document large-scale urban flight in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regions that saw migrant influx experienced greater subsequent new COVID-19 cases, linking urban flight (as a disease vector) and coronavirus spread in destination areas. Urban residents fled to socially connected areas, consistent with the theory that individuals sheltered with friends and family, or in second homes. Populations that fled were disproportionately younger, whiter, and wealthier. The association between migration and subsequent new cases persists when instrumenting for migration with social networks.

Keywords: Migration; COVID-19; Contagion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I14 J61 R41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:juecon:v:133:y:2023:i:c:s0094119022000663

DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2022.103489

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