This paper examines spatial—economic interdependence in a five-country interregional trade system in Central America. Different measures based on trade linkages are derived in a stochastic discrete Markov framework and include mean passage, waiting, and travel times, which are interpreted in terms of functional distances. It is demonstrated that although the Central American regional system has evolved toward a more integrated spatial—economic system, it still remains open and subservient to an external rest-of-world sector.
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