This paper attempts to incorporate a production function with input substitution into the Smith model and to re-examine the basic properties and the shape of space cost curve. It has shown the space cost curve will be (i) concave from below in the distance plane, when the transport rate is constant or decreasing with distance; (ii) linear, convex or concave from below in the distance plane, when the transport rate is increasing with distance. This result is quite different from Smith's, Richardson's and Mai's.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bater, J.H. and Walker, D.B. (1970). Further Comments on Industrial Location and Linkage , Area, Vol 4, 59-63.
2.
Butler, J.H. (1980). Economic Geography: Spatial and Environmental Aspects of Economic Activity. Wiley, New York.
3.
Conkling, E.C. and Yeates, M. (1976). Man's Economic Environment. McGraw-Hill, New York.
4.
Haddad, P.B. and Schwartzman, J. (1974). A Space Cost Curve of Industrial Location, Economic Geography, Vol. 50; 141-143.
5.
Mai, C.C. (1980). The Space Cost Curve and Variable Transport Cost , Urban Studies, Vol. 17, 357-359.
6.
Mai, C.C. (1981). Optimum Location and the Theory of the Firm Under Demand Uncertainty, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Vol. 11, 549-579.
7.
Massey, D. (1979). A Critical Evaluation of Industrial-Location Theory , in F. E. I. Hamilton and G. J. R. Linge, eds. Spatial Analysis, Industry Environment Progress in Research and Progress, Vol. 1 Industrial Systems. Wiley, New York, 57-72.
8.
Mathur, V.K. (1979). Some Unresolved Issues in the Location Theory of the Firm, Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 6, 299-318.
9.
Richardson, H.W. (1969). Regional Economics: Location Theory, Urban Structure and Regional Change. Weidenfeld and Nicolson: London.
10.
Smith, D.M. (1966). A Theoretical Framework for Geographical Studies of Industrial Location, Economic Geography, Vol. 42, 95-113. Also in R. D. Dean, W. H. Leahy and D. L. McKee, eds. (1970) Spatial Economy Theory. The Free Press, New York.
11.
Smith, D.M. (1971). Industrial Location — An Economic Geographical Analysis. Wiley, New York.
12.
Smith, D.M. (1979). Modelling Industrial Location: Towards A Broader View of the Space Economy, in F. E. I. Hamilton and G. J. R. Linge, eds. Spatial Analysis, Industry, Environment Progress in Research and Application, Vol. 1 Industrial System. Wiley, New York.
13.
Watkins, A.J. (1980). The Practice of Urban Economics. Sage, Beverley Hills.
14.
Woodward, R.S. (1973). The Iso-Outlay Function and Variable Transport Costs, Journal of Regional Science, Vol. 13, 349-355.
