A TRANSLOG APPROACH TO CONSUMER SPATIAL BEHAVIOR*

With the view that travel behavior stems from the principle of utility maximization, in this paper I present a spatial translog demand model that accounts for interdependence among travel alternatives and that handles varying elasticities of substitution for various destination pairs. Using simulation as the mode of inquiry, this model describes the effect of spatial size, spatial configuration, and spatial substitution on spatial interaction. In addition to indicating how varying spatial sizes and configurations affect the average trip length and the trip making pattern, the simulation results also point out the possible effect of having spatially dependent locations in the system. Competing destinations increase the attractiveness of nearby locations, and complementary destinations reduce the impeding effect of space. The model is primarily relevant to the demand for shopping trips.     

SPATIAL COMPETITION WITH LOCATION-DEPENDENT COSTS*

This paper investigates the behavior of spatially-competitive firms whose costs depend on their locations. Necessary and sufficient conditions for optimum locations are derived. Comparative-statistics analysis of the equilibrium shows that the responses of firms to changes in input and output transport rates depend on the properties of consumer demand curves or are ambiguous in sign.     

SPATIAL COMPETITION WITH CONSISTENT CONJECTURES*

ABSTRACT Equilibrium in spatial models invariably depends on firms' conjectures about how competitors will react to their price changes. This paper analyzes spatial price and location equilibrium when firms hold consistent (i.e. correct) conjectures. Most spatial models assume an exogenous conjecture. Consistent conjectures are one method, albeit a controversial one, for endogenizing the conjecture. We show that the consistent conjecture about a competitor's reaction to a price change in the simplest case is 1/3. When demand is elastic the consistent conjecture is a decreasing function of the radius. It is always below 1/3 and can be negative. In the third model, we show that the consistent conjecture declines as the number of dimensions and the number of competitors increases.     

A NOTE ON THE STABILITY PROPERTY OF SPATIAL COMPETITION*

ABSTRACT. Our study extends the standard comparative static analysis to allow for dynamic aspects of equilibrium in spatial competiton. We investigate dynamic stability properties via the Routh-Hurwitz criterion. Nontrivial equilibria in the so-called Löschian, Hotelling-Smithies, and Greenhut-Ohta models are shown to be stable even under heterogeneous cost conditions among competing firms, conditions not considered hitherto. We can thus provide powerful support to the comparative static analyses which can only be developed via equilibrium concepts with stability properties.     

SPATIAL MOBILITY AND RETURNS TO EDUCATION: SOME EVIDENCE FROM A SAMPLE OF FRENCH YOUTH*

ABSTRACT This study re‐evaluates the returns to geographic mobility and to the level of education taking into account the interaction between these two variables, and using the distance covered as a proxy for migration costs. We have at our disposal an original French database that permits precise calculation of the distance between the place of education and the location of first employment. For men, we find decreasing returns to spatial mobility as the distance covered rises and increasing returns to mobility with higher levels of education. The marginal returns to spatial mobility for women are lower across the board.     

GREENSTONE AXES FROM EASTERN CENTRAL SWEDEN: A TECHNOLOGICAL-PETROLOGICAL APPROACH*

Thin-section study of Mesolithic-Neolithic axes from five sites in eastern central Sweden and of dolerites occurring in the vicinity showed that the axes were almost definitely produced from local material. Knapping experiments were carried out on blanks from two of these local dolerite varieties and on control material from Delaware, New Jersey, to produce thin-butted axes. These showed that the unconventional shape of the Swedish preforms is mainly, if not completely, determined by the intrinsic properties of the rock and not by local or regional cultural differences or bad craftsmanship. A number of features were observed in thin-section, such as a relatively coarse grain size, veining and small cracks, which may lead to the inferior knapping qualities of the Swedish dolerites.     

SPATIAL COMPETITION AND THE JOINT CONSUMPTION OF SERVICES*

In Hotelling location models, an implicit assumption has been made that a customer uses the service provided by the firm, independent of other customers. However, for firms that supply meeting rooms, wedding halls, tennis courts, and golf links it is essential to incorporate the fact that the customer only uses the service in conjunction with other customers. The objective of this paper is to formulate the Hotelling location model n consideration of the interdependence among customers in one-dimensional space, and to characterize the state of equilibrium. In our model, each group of members within a given distance enjoys a fixed amount of service of the firms, under the assumption that the travel cost incurred by each group is defined as the travel cost of the farthest customer in the group.