Central place theory is a key building block of economic geography and an empirically plausible description of city systems. This paper provides a rationale for central place theory via a dynamic programming formulation of the social planner's problem of city hierarchy. We show that there must...

It is an empirically plausible description of cities and is route to explain empirical regularities in city size distribution and industrial locations. This paper formalizes central place hierarchy by providing a rationale for it via a social planner's problem. The optimal city hierarchy is then...

It is widely believed that an important factor underlying the rapid growth in China is increased foreign direct investment (FDI) and the transfer of foreign technology capital, which is accumulated know-how from investment in research and development (R\&D), brands, and organizations that is not...

We develop a theory of outsourcing in which there is market power in one factor market (labor) and no market power in a second factor market (capital). There are two intermediate goods: one labor-intensive and the other capital-intensive. We show there is always outsourcing in the market...

Does competition spur productivity? And if so, how does it do so? These have long been regarded as central questions in economics. This essay reviews the literature that makes progress toward answering both questions.

The three general approaches to empirical work in economics are structural, experimentalist, and descriptive. This paper provides an overview of how empirical work in regional economics fits into these three categories. In particular, I examine a single issue in the field, the nature of...

To what extent will an industry in which mergers are feasible tend toward monopoly? We analyze this question using a dynamic dominant-firm model with rational agents, endogenous mergers, and constant returns to scale production. We find that long-run industry concentration depends upon the...

This study primarily establishes two things: (1) that monopoly has been pervasive in the U.S. water transportation industry in both the 19th and 20th centuries and has led to prices above competitive levels and the adoption of inefficient technologies and (2) that the competition of railroads...

This paper explores the consequences of new information technologies, such as bar codes and computer-tracking of inventories, for the optimal organization of retail. The first result is that there is a complementarity between the new information technology and frequent deliveries. This is...

When considering the incentive of a monopolist to adopt an innovation, the textbook model assumes that it can instantaneously and seamlessly introduce the new technology. In fact, firms often face major problems in integrating new technologies. In some cases, firms have to (temporarily) produce...