IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/inrsre/v9y1984i1p1-42.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Agglomeration and Central Place Theory: A Review of the Literature

Author

Listed:
  • Gordon F. Mulligan

    (Department of Geography and Regional Development, the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 USA)

Abstract

This paper reviews and evaluates the analytical literature on the interdependencies of agglomeration and central place theory. It is emphasized that economic agents (firms, households) tend to cluster at points of differential centrality on the economic landscape, and that this clustering process can provide even further savings to both producers and consumers. The agglomeration phenomenon is examined at three scales: (1) firm-level analysis focuses on uncertainty, shopping behavior, and spatial equilibria of the economy; (2) settlement-level analysis focuses on static and dynamic city-size models; and (3) system-level analysis focuses on city-size distributions, flows, and evolutionary processes in central place systems. The paper ends with suggestions concerning future research directions.

Suggested Citation

  • Gordon F. Mulligan, 1984. "Agglomeration and Central Place Theory: A Review of the Literature," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 9(1), pages 1-42, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:inrsre:v:9:y:1984:i:1:p:1-42
    DOI: 10.1177/016001768400900101
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/016001768400900101
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/016001768400900101?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mai, Chao-cheng, 1981. "Optimum location and the theory of the firm under demand uncertainty," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 549-557, November.
    2. B. Curtis Eaton & Richard G. Lipsey, 1975. "The Principle of Minimum Differentiation Reconsidered: Some New Developments in the Theory of Spatial Competition," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 42(1), pages 27-49.
    3. Bollobas, Bela & Stern, Nicholas, 1972. "The optimal structure of market areas," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 174-179, April.
    4. Alperovich, Gershon, 1982. "Scale economies and diseconomies in the determination of city size distribution," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 202-213, September.
    5. J. C. McPherson, 1981. "The Implications Of Central Place Theory For Urban Structure In A Declining Region: The North American Experience," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 35-43, January.
    6. Brian J.L. Berry & William L. Garrison, 1958. "Recent Developments Of Central Place Theory," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(1), pages 107-120, January.
    7. G J Papageorgiou, 1971. "The Population Density and Rent Distribution Models within a Multicentre Framework," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 3(3), pages 267-281, September.
    8. Mera, Koichi, 1973. "On the Urban Agglomeration and Economic Efficiency," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 309-324, January.
    9. Vining, Daniel Jr., 1977. "The Rank-Size rule in the absence of growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 15-29, January.
    10. Leon N. Moses, 1958. "Location and the Theory of Production," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 72(2), pages 259-272.
    11. Mulligan, Gordon F., 1980. "The effects of multiplier shifts in a hierarchical city-size model," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 77-90, March.
    12. Takahiro Miyao, 1978. "A Probabilistic Model of Location Choice with Neighborhood Effects," Working Paper 303, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    13. John B. Parr, 1970. "Models Of City Size In An Urban System," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 221-253, April.
    14. Avinash Dixit, 1973. "The Optimum Factory Town," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 4(2), pages 637-654, Autumn.
    15. Allen J. Scott, 1982. "Locational Patterns and Dynamics of Industrial Activity in the Modern Metropolis," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 19(2), pages 111-141, May.
    16. Miyao, Takahiro, 1978. "A probabilistic model of location choice with neighborhood effects," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 347-358, December.
    17. Louveaux, Francois & Thisse, Jacques-Francois & Beguin, Hubert, 1982. "Location theory and transportation costs," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 529-545, November.
    18. Arnott, Richard, 1979. "Optimal city size in a spatial economy," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 65-89, January.
    19. Jan Tinbergen, 1961. "The Spatial Dispersion of Production : A Hypothesis," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 97(IV), pages 412-419, December.
    20. A. Smithies, 1941. "Optimum Location in Spatial Competition," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 49(3), pages 423-423.
    21. Eaton, B Curtis & Lipsey, Richard G, 1982. "An Economic Theory of Central Places," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 92(365), pages 56-72, March.
    22. Gordon F. Mulligan, 1982. "Tinbergen-Type Central Place Systems," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 7(1), pages 83-91, May.
    23. Edwin S. Mills & Michael R. Lav, 1964. "A Model of Market Areas with Free Entry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 72(3), pages 278-278.
    24. Beguin, Hubert & Peeters, Dominique, 1981. "Urbanization in some hierarchical urban models," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 19-37, February.
    25. Wesley H. Long, 1971. "Demand In Space: Some Neglected Aspects," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 45-62, April.
    26. Charles L. Leven, 1969. "Determinants Of The Size And Spatial From Of Urban Areas†," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 7-28, January.
    27. Henderson, J. Vernon, 1982. "Systems of cities in closed and open economies," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 325-350, August.
    28. Stern, Nicholas, 1972. "The optimal size of market areas," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 154-173, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Harvey S. Perloff, 1973. "The Development of Urban Economics in the United States," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 10(3), pages 289-301, October.
    2. Biing‐Shiunn Yang & Chao‐Cheng Mai, 2009. "Löschian competition under demand uncertainty," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(4), pages 765-784, November.
    3. Farhad Dehghan & Guillermo Vargas Uribe, 1999. "Analysing Mexican Population Concentration: A Model with Empirical Evidence," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 36(8), pages 1269-1281, July.
    4. Wang, Fahui, 1999. "Modeling a central place system with interurban transport costs and complex rural hinterlands," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 381-409, May.
    5. John B. Parr, 2017. "Central Place Theory: An Evaluation," Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 151-164, November.
    6. Daisuke Nakamura, 2010. "Spatial competition and consumer exclusion: social welfare perspectives in central-place system," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 101-110, October.
    7. Drèze, Jacques & Le Breton, Michel & Savvateev, Alexei & Weber, Shlomo, 2008. ""Almost" subsidy-free spatial pricing in a multi-dimensional setting," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 143(1), pages 275-291, November.
    8. Borenstein, Severin & Netz, Janet, 1999. "Why do all the flights leave at 8 am?: Competition and departure-time differentiation in airline markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 611-640, July.
    9. Gilles Duranton, 1997. "La nouvelle économie géographique : agglomération et dispersion," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 131(5), pages 1-24.
    10. Javier Elizalde & Markus Kinateder & Ignacio Rodríguez-Carreño, 2015. "Entry regulation, firm’s behaviour and social welfare," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 13-31, August.
    11. Heijnen, Pim & Soetevent, Adriaan R., 2018. "Price competition on graphs," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 161-179.
    12. Brülhart, Marius & Carrère, Céline & Trionfetti, Federico, 2012. "How wages and employment adjust to trade liberalization: Quasi-experimental evidence from Austria," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 68-81.
    13. Mark J. Eppli & John D. Benjamin, 1994. "The Evolution of Shopping Center Research: A Review and Analysis," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 9(1), pages 5-32.
    14. Vladimir Marianov & H. A. Eiselt, 2016. "On agglomeration in competitive location models," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 246(1), pages 31-55, November.
    15. Florent Dubois & Christophe Muller, 2017. "Segregation and the Perception of the Minority," Working Papers halshs-01520308, HAL.
    16. Méndez-Vogel, Gonzalo & Marianov, Vladimir & Lüer-Villagra, Armin & Eiselt, H.A., 2023. "Store location with multipurpose shopping trips and a new random utility customers’ choice model," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 305(2), pages 708-721.
    17. Li, Qiang, 2014. "Ethnic diversity and neighborhood house prices," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 21-38.
    18. Gaëtan Fournier & Marco Scarsini, 2019. "Location Games on Networks: Existence and Efficiency of Equilibria," Mathematics of Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 44(1), pages 212-235, February.
    19. Schuetz, Jenny, 2015. "Why are Walmart and Target Next-Door neighbors?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 38-48.
    20. Stefan Roth, 1999. "Möglichkeiten und Grenzen ökonomischer Positionierungsmodelle," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 243-266, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:inrsre:v:9:y:1984:i:1:p:1-42. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.