Multiplicative Processes and City Sizes

Damián H. Zanette
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Damián H. Zanette: Centro Atómico Bariloche and Instituto Balseiro

A chapter in The Dynamics of Complex Urban Systems, 2008, pp 457-472 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract In this contribution, I address the function of multiplicative stochastic processes in modelling the occurrence of power-law city size distributions. As an explanation of the result of Zipf’s rank analysis, Simon’s model is presented in a mathematically elementary way, with a thorough discussion of the involved hypotheses. Emphasis is put on the flexibility of the model, as to its possible extensions and the relaxation of some strong assumptions. I point out some open problems regarding the prediction of the detailed shape of Zipf’s rank plots, which may be tackled by means of such extensions.

Keywords: Word Frequency; Urban System; Evolution Step; Urban Settlement; City Size (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-7908-1937-3_22

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-7908-1937-3_22

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