On spatial equilibria in a social interaction model

P. Mossay and Pierre Picard

Journal of Economic Theory, 2011, vol. 146, issue 6, 2455-2477

Abstract: Social interactions are at the essence of societies and explain the gathering of individuals in villages, agglomerations, or cities. We study the emergence of multiple agglomerations as resulting from the interplay between spatial interaction externalities and competition in the land market. We show that the geography of the spatial economy affects significantly the properties of spatial equilibria. In particular, when agents locate on an open land strip (line segment), a single city emerges in equilibrium. In contrast, when the spatial economy extends along a closed land strip (circumference), multiple equilibria with odd numbers of cities arise. Spatial equilibrium configurations involve a high degree of spatial symmetry in terms of city size and location, and can be Pareto-ranked.

Keywords: Social interaction; Multiple agglomerations; Spatial economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (64)

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Related works:
Working Paper: On spatial equilibria in a social interaction model (2011)
Working Paper: On spatial equilibria in a social interaction model (2010)
Working Paper: On spatial equilibria in a social interaction model (2009)
Working Paper: On Spatial Equilibria in a Social Interaction Model (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jetheo:v:146:y:2011:i:6:p:2455-2477

DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2011.06.009

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