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About the origin of cities

Author

Listed:
  • André de Palma
  • Yorgos Y. Papageorgiou
  • Jacques-François Thisise
  • Philip Ushchev

Abstract

We provide a bare--bones framework that uncovers the circumstances which lead either to the emergence of equally-spaced and equally-sized central places or to a hierarchy of central places. We show how these patterns reflect the preferences of agents and the efficiency of transportation and communication technologies. Under one class of agents, the economy is characterized by a uniform distribution or by a periodic distribution of central places having the same size. Under two asymmetric classes of agents, the interaction between agents may give rise to a hierarchy of settlements with one or several primate cities.
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Suggested Citation

  • André de Palma & Yorgos Y. Papageorgiou & Jacques-François Thisise & Philip Ushchev, 2019. "About the origin of cities," LIDAM Reprints CORE 3023, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cor:louvrp:3023
    Note: In : Journal of Urban Economics, 111, 1-13, 2019
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    2. Sergey Kichko & Wen-Jung Liang & Chao-Cheng Mai & Jacques-Francois Thisse & Ping Wang & Sergei Kichko, 2020. "The Rise (and Fall) of Tech Clusters," CESifo Working Paper Series 8527, CESifo.
    3. Amedeo Ganciu & Mara Balestrieri, 2023. "Visual Analysis to Assess Attraction and Organisation of Contemporary Metropolitan Systems—A Case Study of Central and Northern Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-25, December.
    4. Carl Gaigné & Jacques-François Thisse, 2013. "New Economic Geography and the City," Working Papers SMART 13-02, INRAE UMR SMART.
    5. Alberto Vesperoni & Paul Schweinzer, 2023. "A threshold model of urban development," International Journal of Game Theory, Springer;Game Theory Society, vol. 52(3), pages 891-924, September.
    6. Bosker, Maarten, 2022. "City origins," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    7. Douglas Silveira & Izak Silva & Silvinha Vasconcelos & Fernando Perobelli, 2020. "The Brexit game: uncertainty and location decision," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(6), pages 1515-1538, December.
    8. Roy Cerqueti & Eleonora Cutrini, 2021. "A Framework for Modelling Economic Regional Location Processes Under Uncertainty," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 19(4), pages 703-725, December.

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    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns

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