Connectedness makes systems resilient – be they communication networks, ecological systems, small farms, or even cities. When these systems face a shock, the more connected they are, the better they are in withstanding the shock and either maintaining stability or reaching a new stable state. Morgan Frank, Assistant Professor in DINS has been investigating the resilience of labor markets in cities across the country. Larger cities with employment diversity are indeed more resilient, but those that have “job connectivity” recovered faster from unemployment. “Connectivity” in job sectors provides a buffer against widespread unemployment and could perhaps even lead to increased job creation in the aftermath of systemic shocks.
In a new published paper in Nature Communications, Dr. Frank, with collaborators from MIT and Universidad Carlos III (Spain) showed that job “connectedness” is a key determinant of the resilience of local economies. This research, at the confluence of data, human behavior, and networks has significant implications on how cities should plan for the future of work in their geographical areas.