Ep.7 – Jonathan Rodden, Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Political Divide

Note to listeners: this interview was recorded shortly before Election Day.

Our guest is Jonathan Rodden, Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and author of Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Political Divide. Jonathan also authored an amicus brief in a partisan gerrymandering case that was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 (details below).

Ari Stern, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at Washington University in St. Louis, joins as guest co-host. Ari authored a separate amicus brief in support of the same parties in the same SCOTUS partisan gerrymandering case (details below).

Appendices:

Jonathan Rodden: Harvard economist Benjamin Enke’s research on public opinion and the distinction between moral universalism and moral communalism.

Greg Shill: The Road to Inequality: How the Federal Highway Program Polarized America and Undermined Cities by Clayton Nall and Clayton's interview with Sam Sklar.

Jeff Lin: Discussion of long-run urban dynamics in (1) the short story “More Stately Mansions” by John Updike in the collection Trust Me, and (2) Portage and Path Dependence by Hoyt Bleakley and Jeffrey Lin.

Ari Stern: The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? by Michael J. Sandel

Amicus briefs authored by Jonathan and Ari in a recent SCOTUS partisan gerrymandering case:

Jonathan Rodden: Brief for Common Cause et al. as Brief of Amici Curiae in Support of Appellees, Rucho v. Common Cause, 139 S.Ct. 2484 (2019) (No. 18-422).

Ari Stern: Brief for Common Cause et al. as Amicus Brief of Mathematicians, L. Professors, and Students in Support of Appellees and Affirmance, Rucho v. Common Cause 139 S.Ct. 2484 (2019) (No. 18-422).

Follow us on the web or on Twitter: @denselyspeaking, @jeffrlin, @greg_shill.

Producer: Schuyler Pals.

The views expressed on the show are those of the participants, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the Federal Reserve System, or any of the other institutions with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.