Lost in Space: Population Dynamics in the American Hinterlands and Small Cities

Mark Partridge, Dan Rickman, Kamar Ali () and Rose Olfert ()
Additional contact information
Kamar Ali: University of Saskatchewan
Rose Olfert: University of Saskatchewan

No 707, Economics Working Paper Series from Oklahoma State University, Department of Economics and Legal Studies in Business

Abstract: The sources of urban agglomeration and the urban hierarchy have been extensively studied. Despite the pivotal role of the hinterlands in theories of the development of the urban hierarchy, little attention has been paid to the effect of urban agglomeration on growth in the hinterlands, particularly in a developed, mature economy. Therefore, this study examines how proximity to urban agglomeration affects contemporary population growth in hinterland U.S. counties. Proximity to urban agglomeration is measured in terms of both distances to higher-tiered areas in the urban hierarchy and proximity to market potential. Particular attention is paid to whether periodic changes and trends in underlying conditions (e.g., technology or transport costs) have altered population dynamics in the hinterlands and small urban centers. Over the period 1950-2000, we find strong negative growth effects of distances to higher-tiered urban areas, with significant, but lesser, effects of distance to market potential. Further, the costs of distance, if anything, appear to be increasing over time, consistent with various recent theories stressing the importance of how new technology affects the spatial distribution of activity in a mature urban system, while factors associated with the New Economic Geography are of lesser importance.

Keywords: Agglomeration; New Economic Geography; Urban Hierarchy; Population Growth, Regional and Urban Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R11 R12 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2007-09
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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Journal Article: Lost in space: population growth in the American hinterlands and small cities (2008)
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