The optimal distribution of population across cities

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Urban Economics
Year: 2019
Volume: 110
Issue: C
Pages: 102-113

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We develop an urban model that incorporates: (1) heterogeneous sites; (2) fiscal and urban externalities; and (3) an endogenous number of cities, i.e., the extensive margin of urban development. Within- and across-city decreasing returns to scale cause agents to perceive their city as being too large in the socially optimal allocation. As a consequence, in equilibrium the largest cities on the most amenable sites are undersized, whereas the smaller cities on less amenable sites are oversized. We propose a test for optimal city size with heterogeneous sites extending the Henry George Theorem.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:juecon:v:110:y:2019:i:c:p:102-113
Journal Field
Urban
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-24