TRANSPORTATION RATES AND LOCATION OF THE FIRM: A COMPARATIVE STATIC ANALYSIS*

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of the structure of transportation rates in the Weber-Moses triangle model. It shows that, in Zeigler's analysis, the appearance of the price elasticities of demand for inputs actually vanish by a simple application of the envelope theorem. Applying comparative statics analysis, we show when transportation rates are a function of quantity and distance, the assumptions that the production function is homogeneous of degree one and the transportation rates elasticities with respect to quantity and distance are constant are not sufficient to insure that the optimum location is independent of the level of output. This result is significantly different from that obtained by either Miller and Jensen or Zeigler.     

A NOTE ON TRANSPORTATION RATES AND LOCATION OF THE FIRM IN A TWO-DIMENSION,n-INPUT SPACE*

This paper examines the theoretical implications of quantity-discounted transportation rates on the optimum location decision of the firm. It shows that the linearly homogeneous or homothetic production function is not a sufficient condition for the independence between the optimum location and the output level, unless (i) the elasticities of transportation rates with respect to quantity shipped are constant and identical, and (ii) the ratios of marginal products 60 the marginal transportation costs are equal for each input.     

LOCATION OF PUBLIC FACILITIES WITH SPILLOVER EFFECTS: VARIABLE LOCATION AND PARAMETRIC SCALE*

ABSTRACT This paper studies the location of public facilities of two neighboring local governments which consider not only the influence of the land market but also the spillover effects that each jurisdiction may have on the other. We obtain the following results: (1) in most cases, one of the cities behaves as an isolated city in choosing the facility location while the other enjoys the spillover effect as a free rider; (2) we also find that the equilibrium location in the two noncooperative city case is not socially optimal except for a special case.     

THE LOCATION THEORY OF THE PLANTATION*

ABSTRACT This paper develops a method for studying noninfinitesimal operational units, with the Thünen location and land use model. With constant returns to scale and perfect divisibility of nonland inputs, all operational units would occupy only a point on the landscape. The present model uses increasing returns to scale to generate large operational units, called “plantations” and studies the comparative statics. The setting of the model is an agricultural operation in which some processing of raw crop must be conducted prior to shipment to market. The processing is assumed to have increasing returns to scale.     

PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY UNCERTAINTY AND THE OPTIMAL LOCATION OF THE FIRM*

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the implication of production-technology uncertainty for the exclusion theorem. The paper presents the result that the risk-averse firm facing production technology uncertainty prefers an intermediate location to avoid risk under certain conditions. The firm chooses an intermediate location (over a corner location) particularly if its degree of risk aversion overwhelms the inherent convexity of profit with respect to location. The latter depends, in turn, on the structure of production technology characterized by the elasticity of substitution and returns to scale parameters.     

OPTIMUM LOCATION AND THEORY OF THE FIRM UNDER A REGULATORY CONSTRAINT*

This paper attempts to incorporate space in the theory of a regulated firm. It will show that the A-J effects are not affected in a spatial setting. In addition, it will also demonstrate that as the difference between the regulated fair rate of return and the unconstrained profit-maximizing rate of return on capital becomes greater, the optimum location of the regulated firm moves towards the site of the product market, if capital and labor are complements (substitutes) and if marginal transportation costs (with respect to distance) are an increasing (decreasing) function of labor usage.     

THE PURE THEORY OF HOUSEHOLD LOCATION AN AXIOMATIC APPROACH*

In this paper, I present an axiomatic basis for the neoclassical model of household location in a monocentric urban area. I generalize the existing framework and demonstrate that many of the conclusions derived using parametric models continue to hold even without the popularly assumed well-behaved utility and transportation cost functions.     

IMPERFECT INFORMATION,UNCERTAINTY AND OPTIMAL SAMPLING IN LOCATION THEORY: AN INITIAL REEXAMINATION OF HOTELLING,WEBER, AND VON THÜNEN*

ABSTRACT Sophisticated locational analysis should no longer proceed without examining (1) the feasibility of reducing uncertainty about the size and spatial spread of the market, prices and other elements and (2) the practicality of information generation through sampling. The present paper points out the methodology for Hotelling-, Weberian- and von Thünen- type location problems by examining simplified situations.