Hopes persist that a burst of relocations by tech companies and remote workers will revitalize the American heartland. Recent location announcements by firms such as Google and Apple have generated optimism, magnified by a steady stream of articles about tech workers fleeing the coasts. Maybe remote work and pandemic-spurred moves really are going to redistribute economic vitality more evenly across the country after a decade of excessive concentration in coastal “superstar” cities.

Or maybe not: While aspects of the corporate relocation story may be real, new evidence raises questions about the true potential of the remote-work-driven renewal storyline.

+INFO: Brookings