A note on functional forms and the urban size distribution
Article Abstract:
A study was conducted to determine the Pareto distribution of the urban size for 318 standard metropolitan statistical areas (SMSA) in the US based on 1980 census data. The study has revealed that a general functional form is a superior technique to estimate the Pareto distribution of the urban size, and the Pareto coefficient is a function of the stages of urban development and growth. Results also suggest that a log-linear form may cause the Pareto coefficient to be overestimated by a large degree. The Pareto coefficients decline gradually for the SMSAs in the US when the areas become smaller, and small SMSAs have a greater population than estimated by the rank-size rule. These results might suggest that small SMSAs require a larger population to become economically viable and to realize the benefits of economies of scale and agglomeration economies.
Publication Name: Journal of Urban Economics
Subject: Government
ISSN: 0094-1190
Year: 1990
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Congestion function specification and the 'publicness' of local public goods
Article Abstract:
An experiment in the measurement of congestion within a median voter demand framework was conducted by examining five models of congestion. Research results have revealed a flexible functional form, called the exponential function model, that imposes fewer prior restrictions on data, and does at least as good a job of explaining the variations in local government spending as traditional methods. Research results also suggest the variation of functional forms has a significant impact on estimates of population elasticity of demand; the estimation of free-form congestion functions provides evidence supporting the assumption congestion of local products decreases at the margin; and the degree of publicness of local products varies inversely with the size of a population.
Publication Name: Journal of Urban Economics
Subject: Government
ISSN: 0094-1190
Year: 1990
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