Economics of Cities Theoretical Perspectives

Since cities are likely to play an even more predominant role in the global economy in the future than they do at present, it is important to understand how urban centers are created, grow, and function in the process of generating and distributing wealth. This integrated collection of essays exploring the economic theory of cities assembles work by a number of the world's leading exponents in North America, the UK/Europe, and Japan. Topics investigated include cities and agglomeration, urban systems, urbanization and growth, and cities and factor markets. The perspectives the editors and contributors offer have strong connections with several branches of modern economics, including industrial organization, public economics, international trade, and endogenous growth and economic development.

Introduction J. M. Huriot and J. F. Thisse; Part I. Cities and Agglomeration: 1. The formation of economics agglomerations - old problems and new perspectives M. Fujita, J. F. Thisse; 2. Urban economics in retrospect: continuity or change?; C. Baumont, J. M. Huriot; Part II. Urban Systems: 3. City systems: general equilibrium approaches H. M. Abdel-Rahman; 4. Intra-industry specialization and urban development R. Becker, J. V. Henderson, Thomas Gehrig; 5. A monopolistic competition model of urban systems and trade M. Fujita, P. Krugman; 6. Dynamic evolution of the US city size distribution Linda Harris Dobkins, Yannis M. Ioannides; Part III. Urbanization and Growth: 7. Urban growth models with durable housing: an overview J. Brueckner; 8. Urbanization, urban structure and growth G. Duranton; 9. Urban spread beyond the edge of the city F. Goffette-Nagot; Part IV. Cities and Factor Markets: 10. Unemployment in cities Y. Zenou; 11. Rural vs. urban location: the spatial division of labour Hubert Jayet; 12. Cities and the geography of financial centers Thomas Gegrig.