In this paper, I model a simple hierarchical inter-urban system in which the location of business firms is considered together with the determination of residential land-use patterns. By supposing a spatial externality between the business firms and all the residents of the region, three spatial...

This paper measures optimal city sizes for Japanese metropolitan areas, using a surplus function approach. The surplus function is defined as the difference between the total disposable income and the total expenditure of the households working and living in the metropolitan areas and the...

This paper presents an empirical study on the optimality of population distribution within the Tokyo metropolitan area. By taking into account the effects of agglomeration economies and diseconomies on the urban business firms' and households' behaviour, a benefit function and a cost function...

In order to solve the Tokyo monopolar problem, the Japanese government has proposed a controversial policy that is to move the capital functions from Tokyo to the other places of the country. Concerning this policy, the paper presents an approach and a case study to estimate its effects on the...