 Rank-size analysis: a methodological viewRoy Cerqueti and Marcel Ausloos Chapter 35 in Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Research Methods in the Social Sciences, 2026, pp 253-258 from Edward Elgar Publishing Abstract: The rank-size analysis is a powerful methodological framework used to explore the relationship between the quantitative realizations of a given phenomenon and their ranks – the realizations being sorted out in decreasing order, for example. The starting point of a rank-size analysis is an available sample of observations used to implement a best-fit procedure over a pre-selected class of parametric curves. The obtained best-fit curve – the so-called rank-size law – provides insights on the system created by the considered sample, hence illustrating the overall reality beyond the merely available realizations. The versatility of the rank-size analysis is witnessed by many applications that can be found in the literature. This entry describes the methodological ingredients of the rank-size analysis. Specifically, it presents the details of its implementation and some relevant classes of parametric curves to be used for such an exercise. Attention is also paid to some essential aspects of this statistical context. Keywords: Rank-size Distribution; Data Regularity; Ranked Data; Parametric Curves; Best-fit Procedure; Optimization Algorithm (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:21471_35 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing |
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