Today, the Bay Area is home to the most successful knowledge economy in America, while Los Angeles has fallen progressively further behind its neighbor to the north and a number of other American metropolises. Yet, in 1970, experts would have predicted that L.A. would outpace San Francisco in population, income, economic power, and influence. The usual factors used to explain urban growth--luck, immigration, local economic policies, and the pool of skilled labor--do not account for the contrast between the two cities and their fates. So what does?

The Rise and Fall of Urban...

Today, the Bay Area is home to the most successful knowledge economy in America, while Los Angeles has fallen progressively further behind its neighbor to the north and a number of other American metropolises. Yet, in 1970, experts would have predicted that L.A. would outpace San Francisco in population, income, economic power, and influence. The usual factors used to explain urban growth--luck, immigration, local economic policies, and the pool of skilled labor--do not account for the contrast between the two cities and their fates. So what does? The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies...