This article examines the role of work at the cutting of technological change—frontier work—as a driver of prosperity and spatial income inequality. Using new methods and data, we analyze the geography and incomes of frontier workers from 1880 to 2019. Initially, frontier work is concentrated in a set of ‘seedbed’ locations, contributing to rising spatial inequality through powerful localized wage premiums. As technologies mature, the economic distinctiveness of frontier work diminishes, as ultimately happened to cities like Manchester and Detroit. Our work uncovers a plausible general origin story of the unfolding of spatial income inequality.

中文翻译：

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边境工人和不平等与繁荣的温床

本文探讨了工作在技术变革（前沿工作）中所扮演的角色，作为繁荣和空间收入不平等的驱动力。我们使用新的方法和数据，分析了 1880 年至 2019 年边境工人的地理位置和收入。最初，边境工作集中在一组“苗床”地点，通过强大的本地化工资溢价加剧了空间不平等。随着技术的成熟，前沿工作的经济独特性逐渐减弱，曼彻斯特和底特律等城市最终发生了这种情况。我们的工作揭示了空间收入不平等展开的一个看似合理的一般起源故事。