This paper tests the relationship between primacy and economic development for countries in Asia and the Americas. It tests explanations for primacy drawn from several social-science disciplines--demography, economics, geography, political science, and sociology. The study is one of the first to...

Gustavsson [1999] finds that policies that promote international trade increase the size of a country’s largest city relative to the country’s total population, which is defined here as an increase in urban gigantism. In contrast, Ades and Glaeser [1995] report urban gigantism is reduced by...

This study uses panel data to estimate stochastic production frontiers for Canadian cities. Efficiency indices are derived from the production frontiers. Regression analysis of the determinants of a city's inefficiency shows that population size and density both increase efficiency. These...

Gustavsson [1999] finds that policies that promote international trade increase the size of a country’s largest city relative to the country’s total population, which is defined here as an increase in urban gigantism. In contrast, Ades and Glaeser [1995] report urban gigantism is reduced by...

This paper tests the relationship between primacy and economic development for countries in Asia and the Americas. It tests explanations for primacy drawn from several social-science disciplines--demography, economics, geography, political science, and sociology. The study is one of the first to...