The Economy of Cities

In summary, dense cities agglomerate critical, often scarce resources that can be shared collectively. Utilizing these shared resources, firms are free to specialize and innovate on their small slice of the pie. This combination of shared resources and specialization is the magic that makes cities so productive.

Every town draws its whole subsistence, and all the materials of its industry, from the: country. It pays for these chiefly in two ways. First, by sending back to the country a part of those materials wrought up and manufactured; in which case, their price is augmented by the wages of the workmen, and the profits of their masters or immediate emplo

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