The economics of urban size.

作者：William A. Alonso · 发表于：PubMed · 年份：1971 · DOI：10.1111/j.1435-5597.1971.tb01493.x · 被引用次数：176 · 研究领域：Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis、Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth、Economic Growth and Productivity

An aggregative economic approach to the theory of city size is presented along with some empirical findings which suggest that even the largest cities have not yet reached excessive sizes from the point of view of growth and productivity. Urban magnitude is no simple 1 dimensional phenomenon. Modern urban centers are surrounded by very large diffuse zonal boundaries within which there are marked variations in the proportion of firms and people associated with that center and in the intensity of the association. In sum population does not constitute a conventional countable set. In general population will be considered as the basic magnitude and as a conventionally definable number. Most approaches to city size have emphasized the presumed diseconomy of urban scale and have sought to establish that population at which costs per capita are least regarding this as optimal. It is argued here that both the logic and the factual basis of this approach are faulty. The argument of minimum costs is insufficient in its own terms. Such an objective is reasonable only if output per capita is constant but it appears that output per capita is an increasing function of urban size. In that case a more sensible objective of public policy would deal with the relation of outputs and inputs rather than only with inputs. In every country for which evidence was found local product per capita (or some index for it such as income or wages) rises with urban size and where comparable figures on cost a...