Central place theory and city size distribution
This paper proposes a theory of city size distribution via a hierarchy approach rather than the popular random growth process. It does so by formalizing central place theory using an equilibrium entry model and specifying the conditions under which city size distribution follows a power law. Central...
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sg-smu-ink.soe_research-29932019-11-22T08:11:28Z Central place theory and city size distribution HSU, Wen-Tai This paper proposes a theory of city size distribution via a hierarchy approach rather than the popular random growth process. It does so by formalizing central place theory using an equilibrium entry model and specifying the conditions under which city size distribution follows a power law. Central place theory describes the way in which a hierarchical city system with different layers of cities serving differently sized market areas is formed from a uniformly populated space. The force driving the city size differences in this model is the heterogeneity in economies of scale across goods. The city size distribution under a central place hierarchy exhibits a power law if the distribution of scale economies is regularly varying, which is a general class that encompasses many well-known, commonly used distributions. This model is also consistent with a power law for firms and a number-average-size rule, which is the log-linear relationship between the number and average size of the cities in which an industry is located. 2012-09-01T07:00:00Z text application/pdf https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/1994 info:doi/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2012.02518.x https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soe_research/article/2993/viewcontent/Hsu_2012_The_Economic_Journal__1_.pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Research Collection School Of Economics eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Central place theory power law Zipf’s law regular variation number-averagesize rule fractal structure Behavioral Economics Growth and Development Urban Studies and Planning |
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Central place theory power law Zipf’s law regular variation number-averagesize rule fractal structure Behavioral Economics Growth and Development Urban Studies and Planning HSU, Wen-Tai Central place theory and city size distribution |
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This paper proposes a theory of city size distribution via a hierarchy approach rather than the popular random growth process. It does so by formalizing central place theory using an equilibrium entry model and specifying the conditions under which city size distribution follows a power law. Central place theory describes the way in which a hierarchical city system with different layers of cities serving differently sized market areas is formed from a uniformly populated space. The force driving the city size differences in this model is the heterogeneity in economies of scale across goods. The city size distribution under a central place hierarchy exhibits a power law if the distribution of scale economies is regularly varying, which is a general class that encompasses many well-known, commonly used distributions. This model is also consistent with a power law for firms and a number-average-size rule, which is the log-linear relationship between the number and average size of the cities in which an industry is located. |
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Central place theory and city size distribution |
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Central place theory and city size distribution |
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Central place theory and city size distribution |
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Central place theory and city size distribution |
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Central place theory and city size distribution |
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central place theory and city size distribution |
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Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University |
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2012 |
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https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/1994 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soe_research/article/2993/viewcontent/Hsu_2012_The_Economic_Journal__1_.pdf |
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