Structural transformation from manufacturing to services varies sharply across US regions. We document that regions with universities, especially highly ranked research institutions, experience faster growth in high-skill services, larger increases in the college wage premium, and a greater concentration of new work. We develop a task-based theory in which universities affect local economies by supplying college labor and adding new tasks. Our quantitative analysis shows that new tasks concentrated in top university regions account for a substantial part of regional differences in high-skill-service growth and the college wage premium increase between 1980 and 2015.

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20 August 2026     Paper Number CEPDP2211

Download PDF - Universities, new tasks, and the rise of services

This CEP discussion paper is published under the centre's Urban programme, Growth programme.