Optimality Versus Stability: Pattern Formation in Spatial Economics
Tönu Puu ()
Additional contact information
Tönu Puu: Umea University
Chapter 5 in Tool Kits in Regional Science, 2009, pp 155-161 from Springer
Abstract:
Abstract Whenever economists try to explain any observed pattern of facts, a favorite candidate is the optimality of this particular pattern over alternatives. So, Christaller’s observation of predominantly hexagonal market areas in Southern Germany led Lösch to point at this as the most economic solution in terms of minimum total transportation cost, given one had to deal with a close packing of market areas in the twodimensional plane. And so has it remained. Economists have little interest in formulating dynamical models, or even in dealing with the dynamic issues implicit in considering at least the stability of al1ternative patterns. It is taken for granted that systems seek the optima, minimizing expenditure or maximizing utility, without regard of the frictions (=costs) inherent in transforming an existent pattern to another optimal one. They are always satisfied just by designing a state which is best in some sense, and never even calculate how much better this is than an existent alternative. This imagery was, of course, helped by the fact that most economic models are linear, which among other things implies that optima are unique. There is hence no multi stability, i.e. no existent optima, and no need for considerations about whether any dynamic process is likely to take the system from one local optimum to a global optimum which might be slightly better. This is, in my opinion, the worst consequence of the preoccupation with linear systems in economics. (See the QWERTY issue raised by Arthur (1990) to appreciate the importance in a general, non spatial context.)
Keywords: Market Area; Intersection Manifold; Lead Shot; Spatial Economic; Mill Price (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:
There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:adspcp:978-3-642-00627-2_5
Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783642006272
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-00627-2_5
Access Statistics for this chapter
More chapters in Advances in Spatial Science from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().