Cities to live or to work inan input-output model of migration and commuting

Resumen

Madrid and Barcelona have traditionally been recipient provinces for inmigration in Spain. Since mid 1990s the inflows of workers into the two main Spanish cities have increased dramatically reinforced by the arrival of immigrants. These inflows should have affected the original distribution of population and labor force within the city itself and its surrounding areas, i.e. the metropolitan area. Two opposite forces are at play: the existence of agglomeration economies suggests a concentration of economic activity -and therefore jobs- in the city, while the agglomeration diseconomies associated with the arrival of new workers suggest a runaway of residents to some other places more attractive to live in but still close to the city. Using the latest Spanish Census available -from 2001- and working at municipal level, this paper explores the effects that the arrival of new workers (either nationals or foreigners) has had within Madrid and Barcelona metropolitan areas. The input-output model suggested includes both migration and commuting flows, which allows us to analyze the displacement effect -and its subsequently distribution of workers- as well as the commuting patterns, i.e. distribution of residents, within the two main Spanish metropolitan areas.