When firms and people are located near each other in cities and in industrial clusters, they benefit in various ways, including by reducing the costs of exchanging goods and ideas. One might assume that these benefits would become less important as transportation and communication costs fall. Paradoxically, however, cities have become increasingly important, and even within cities industrial clusters remain vital. Agglomeration Economics brings together a group of essays that examine the reasons why economic activity continues to cluster together despite the falling costs of moving goods and transmitting information. The studies cover a wide range of topics and approach the economics of agglomeration from different angles. Together they advance our understanding of agglomeration and its implications for a globalized world.

This book provides the first unifying treatment of the range of economic reasons for the clustering of firms and households. Its goal is to explain further the trade-off between various forms of increasing returns and different types of mobility costs. Although referring to agglomeration as a generic term is convenient, it should be noted that the concept of economic agglomeration refers to distinct real world situations. The main focus of the treatment is on cities, but it also explores the formation of agglomerations, such as commercial districts within cities, industrial clusters at the regional level, and the existence of imbalance between regions. The book is rooted within the realm of modern economics and borrows concepts from geography and regional science, which makes it accessible to a broad audience formed by economists, geographers, regional planners, and other scientists. It may be used in coursework for graduate students and upper-level undergraduates.

The new Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics: Cities and Geography reviews, synthesizes and extends the key developments in urban and regional economics and their strong connection to other recent developments in modern economics. Of particular interest is the development of the new economic geography and its incorporation along with innovations in industrial organization, endogenous growth, network theory and applied econometrics into urban and regional economics. The chapters cover theoretical developments concerning the forces of agglomeration, the nature of neighborhoods and human capital externalities, the foundations of systems of cities, the development of local political institutions, regional agglomerations and regional growth. Such massive progress in understanding the theory behind urban and regional phenomenon is consistent with on-going progress in the field since the late 1960's. What is unprecedented are the developments on the empirical side: the development of a wide body of knowledge concerning the nature of urban externalities, city size distributions, urban sprawl, urban and regional trade, and regional convergence, as well as a body of knowledge on specific regions of the world—Europe, Asia and North America, both current and historical. The Handbook is a key reference piece for anyone wishing to understand the developments in the field.

This second edition studies the economic reasons for the existence of a variety of agglomerations arising from the global to the local.

This book contains the complete text of the special Golden Anniversary issue of the flagship journal of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI), Papers in Regional Science (Volume 83, Number 1), as well as the full text of Walter Isard's Presidential Address "The future (near and far) of regional science". Professor Isard originally delivered the speech in a special plenary session of the fiftieth North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International. The session began with a ceremonial kickoff to the year-long celebration of the multidisciplinary field's first 50 years. At the ceremony, held on the morning of Friday, November 21,2004 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Philadelphia, we presented Walter Isard, the founder of our multidisciplinary field, as well as Antoine Bailly, the President of the Regional Science Association International, and David Boyce, the Association's Archivist, with commemorative first copies of the anniversary issue. This book, entitled Fifty Years of Regional Science, consists of a compendium of "thought" papers authored by a representative sampling of some of the field's leading scholars. For the special journal issue we originally titled the collection: "The Brightest of Dawns".

220 million Americans crowd together in the 3% of the country that is urban. 35 million people live in the vast metropolis of Tokyo, the most productive urban area in the world. The central city of Mumbai alone has 12 million people, and Shanghai almost as many. We choose to live cheek by jowl, in a planet with vast amounts of space. Yet despite all of the land available to us, we choose to live in proximity to cities. Using economics to understand this phenomenon, the urban economist uses the tools of economic theory and empirical data to explain why cities exist and to analyze urban issues such as housing, education, crime, poverty and social interaction. Drawing on the success of his Lindahl lectures, Edward Glaeser provides a rigorous account of his research and unique thinking on cities. Using a series of simple models and economic theory, Glaeser illustrates the primary features of urban economics including the concepts of spatial equilibrium and agglomeration economies. Written for a mathematically inclined audience with an interest in urban economics and cities, the book is written to be accessible to theorists and non-theorists alike and should provide a basis for further empirical work.

The 32nd issue of the International Productivity Monitor is a special issue produced in collaboration with the OECD. All articles published in this issue were selected from papers presented at the First Annual Conference of the OECD Global Forum on Productivity held in Lisbon, Portugal, July ...

Urban Agglomeration and Economic Growth is the fifth volume in the series of books emanating from the activities of the Egon-Sohmen-Foundation. It contains 10 papers (plus a supplementary note) which were presented at an international conference in Zurich, Switzerland, in summer 1993. These papers cover historical and theoretical aspects as well as policy implications. The volume contains contributions by M. Beckmann, H.-J. Ewers, R.H. Funck, M. van Geenhuizen and P. Nijkamp, G. Giuliano and K.A. Small, P. Hall, H. Klodt, J. Mokyr, H.W. Richardson and J.G. Williamson.

"This inspiring collection compiles the most essential papers encompassing agglomeration economies. Agglomeration economies are manifested in cities and industry clusters shaping the neighborhoods and the regions that contain them. The literature is unified around several themes: Improvements in econometric methods and data, geographic scales at which agglomeration economies operate, micro-neighborhoods and mega-regions. The volume also uncovers the forces driving the field including labor markets, input markets and dynamic phenomena such as innovation, technology change and growth. Prefaced by an original introduction from the editor, this collection promises to be a useful tool for scholars as well as a fascinating read to those interested in the subject area"--

"A comprehensive and highly readable review of the conceptual underpinnings of economic geography. Students and professional scholars alike will find it extremely useful both as a reference manual and as an authoritative guide to the numerous theoretical debates that characterize the field." - Allen J. Scott, University of California "Guides readers skilfully through the rapidly changing field of economic geography... The key concepts used to structure this narrative range from key actors and processes within global economic change to a discussion of newer areas of research including work on financialisation and consumption. The result is a highly readable synthesis of contemporary debates within economic geography that is also sensitive to the history of the sub-discipline." - Sarah Hall, University of Nottingham "The nice thing about this text is that it is concise but with depth in its coverage. A must have for any library, and a useful desk reference for any serious student of economic geography or political economy." - Adam Dixon, Bristol University Organized around 20 short essays, Key Concepts in Economic Geography provides a cutting edge introduction to the central concepts that define contemporary research in economic geography. Involving detailed and expansive discussions, the book includes: An introductory chapter providing a succinct overview of the recent developments in the field. Over 20 key concept entries with comprehensive explanations, definitions and evolutions of the subject. Extensive pedagogic features that enhance understanding including figures, diagrams and further reading. An ideal companion text for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students in economic geography, the book presents the key concepts in the discipline, demonstrating their historical roots and contemporary applications to fully understand the processes of economic change, regional growth and decline, globalization, and the changing locations of firms and industries. Written by an internationally recognized set of authors, the book is an essential addition to any geography student′s library.