This article tackles the question: Are large public expenditures on new stadiums a good investment for cities? Although public subsidies for professional sports teams are controversial, the answer to our question may well be yes. In this article, Jerry Carlino and visiting scholar Ed Coulson...

Proponents of the City Beautiful movement advocated for sizable public investments in monumental spaces, street beautification, and classical architecture. Today, economists and policymakers see the provision of consumer leisure amenities as a way to attract people and jobs to cities. But past...