This paper proposes a simple theory of a system of cities that decomposes the determinants of the city size distribution into three main components: efficiency, amenities, and frictions. Higher efficiency and better amenities lead to larger cities, but also to greater frictions through...

Paper prepared for presentation at the 8th ICABR International Conference on Agricultural Biotechnology: International Trade and Domestic Production Ravello (Italy), July 8 to 11th, 2004

Der Artikel veranschaulicht die Pendlerverflechtungen zwischen den sächsischen Gemeinden und stellt dar, welche Auswirkungen diese auf den kommunalen Finanzausgleich haben könnten. Mit den Pendlerverflechtungen geht auch eine zusätzliche Nachfrage nach öffentlichen Leistungen in den...

Drawing on Simmel’s view of the modern metropolis, the article provides a reflection on the present research on megacities and likewise a corrective to approaches focusing too unilaterally on risks. At the same time the emergence and advancement of megacities will be explored in the...

This paper performs a test of Zipf's Law (the size distribution of cities follows a Pareto distribution with shape parameter equal to 1) using data for Malaysian cities from five population censuses (1957, 1970, 1980, 1991 and 2000). We reject Zipf's Law for all periods except 1957, in favour of...

We analyze the role of optimal income taxation across different local labor markets. Should labor in large cities be taxed differently than in small cities? We find that a planner who needs to raise revenue and is constrained by free mobility of labor across cities does not choose equal taxes...

Individual earnings are higher in bigger cities. We consider three reasons: spatial sorting of initially more productive workers, static advantages associated with workers' current location, and learning by working in big cities. Using rich administrative data for Spain, we find that workers in...

We analyze the role of optimal income taxation across different local labor markets. Should labor in large cities be taxed differently than in small cities? We find that a planner who needs to raise revenue and is constrained by free mobility of labor across cities does not choose equal taxes...

We build a theoretical model that relates house price, city size and the expected future growth of demand for housing. Our model combines the Alonso-Mills model on urban economics with insights from financial economics on house prices. Estimating the model for cities in the US, we empirically...

The paper uses the consolidation of municipalities brought about by the Fascist dictatorship in Italy during the 1920s to gauge the role of the size of local jurisdictions for economic development. It finds that the consolidation was associated with relevant net welfare gains for the communities...