This paper is an effort to do international trade theory without mentioning countries. Nearly all models of the international economy assume that trade takes place between nations or regions which are themselves dimensionless points. We develop a model in which economic space is instead assumed to be continuous, and in which this `seamless world' spontaneously organizes itself into industrial and agricultural zones because of the tension between forces of agglomeration and disagglomeration. One might expect such a model to be analytically intractable, but we are able to gain considerable insight through a combination of simulations and an analytical approach originally suggested in a biological context by Alan Turing.
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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number
1230.
Find related papers by JEL classification: F1 - International Economics - - Trade F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration R3 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - Production Analysis and Firm Location
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