NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH
NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH

Quality of Life, Firm Productivity, and the Value of Amenities across Canadian Cities

David Albouy, Fernando Leibovici, Casey Warman

NBER Working Paper No. 18103
Issued in May 2012
NBER Program(s):   LS   PE

We present hedonic general-equilibrium estimates of quality-of-life and productivity differences across Canada’s metropolitan areas. These are based off of the estimated willingness-to-pay of heterogeneous households and firms to locate in various cities, which differ in their wage levels, housing costs, and land values. Using 2006 Canadian Census data, our metropolitan quality-of-life estimates are somewhat consistent with popular rankings, but find Canadians care more about climate and culture. Quality-of-life is highest in Victoria for Anglophones, Montreal for Francophones, and Vancouver for Allophones, and lowest in more remote cities. Toronto is Canada’s most productive city; Vancouver is the overall most valuable city.

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