@article{THESIS, recid = {12421}, author = {Bordeu Gazmuri, Olivia}, title = {Commuting Infrastructure in Fragmented Cities}, publisher = {University of Chicago}, school = {Ph.D.}, address = {2024-06}, number = {THESIS}, pages = {103}, abstract = {Cities are divided into local governments responsible for local commuting infrastructure that is used by both their residents and outsiders. In this paper, I study how metropolitan fragmentation affects the provision of commuting infrastructure and the distribution of economic activity. I develop a quantitative spatial model in which municipalities compete for residents and workers by investing in commuting infrastructure to maximize net land value in their jurisdictions. In equilibrium, relative to a central metropolitan planner, municipalities underinvest in areas near their boundaries and overinvest in core areas away from the boundary. Infrastructure investment in fragmented cities results in higher cross-jurisdiction commuting costs, more dispersed employment, and more polycentric patterns of economic activity. Estimating the model using data from Santiago, Chile, I find substantial gains from centralizing investment decisions. Centralization increases aggregate infrastructure investment and population. More importantly, for a given amount of investment, centralization yields large welfare gains due solely to more efficient infrastructure allocation.}, url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/12421}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.6082/uchicago.12421}, }