This paper investigates the relationship between market potential and the spatial variation in the number and the average size of firms. We adapt the canonical model of the New Economic Geography to demonstrate this relationship and to derive an empirical specification suitable for estimation...

A fundamental governance challenge for federal nations is benefiting from decentralization, while addressing potential negative side effects, including vertical and horizontal imbalances. Inefficient migration due to differential net fiscal benefits in subnational units is one potential negative...

Despite the large sums of money spent to ostensibly support rural areas since the 1930s, a framework for assessing U.S. and Canadian rural policy is conspicuously absent, and thus there is little basis for assessing effectiveness of public policy and public expenditures in this area. The purpose...

Although the New Economic Geography (NEG) has been used extensively to formally explain the emergence of the American urban system, few studies investigate its success in explaining current population dynamics in a more established urban system. This study explores whether proximity to...

Spatial heterogeneity is introduced as an explanation for local-area growth mechanisms, especially employment growth. As these effects are difficult to detect using conventional regression approaches, we use Geographically Weighted Regressions (GWR) for non-metropolitan U.S. counties. We test...

The advisability of an urban-centered growth strategy to reap the benefits of urban agglomeration economies is much debated. Rural areas benefit when the growth "spreads" to the hinterlands, especially within daily commuting distance. Yet, in distant-peripheral locations, urban growth may create...