Urban concentration and rural growth: a two-sector analysis

"This paper examines the mechanism and extent of urban concentration using a two-sector growth model. The cause of urbanization is sought in the existence of urban scale economies. Assuming that temporary production decisions are concerned with optimal labor inputs and that profit incomes are reinvested according to relative profitability, the model shows persistent tendency for urban concentration and the transition of the economy from unlimited to limited labor supply. A simple example suggests that urban concentration is more likely than rural expansion with urban contraction."     

Discovery of Iron Grapnel Anchors in Early Modern Ryukyu and Management of Underwater Cultural Heritage in Okinawa,Japan

The Yarabuoki underwater site contains seven iron grapnel anchors and Early Modern Okinawan ceramic jars and is dated to the 16th–19th centuries. The site lies at a depth of 12–32 m off the western coast of Ishigaki Island in Okinawa, Japan. Based on underwater archaeological and broadband multibeam surveys, as well as historical research of the artefacts and Early Modern Ryukyuan shipping, we discuss the possible anchor and vessel types in Ryukyu and Eastern Asia in Early Modern times. We also discuss the efficacy of low‐cost ROV for assisting surveys in shallow‐water environments and the value of educational programmes for promoting the management and conservation of underwater cultural heritage.     

SCALE ECONOMIES,REGIONAL EXTERNALITIES,AND THE POSSIBILITY OF UNEVEN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT*

ABSTRACT. This paper presents a model of regional development which attempts to explain differing patterns of growth in two regions. The model is an extension of Krugman's model of uneven development, but it incorporates not only scale economies within each region but also regional externalities across the regions. Depending on relative magnitudes of net scale economies of the two regions, the model entails different regional development patterns: uneven development, stable or joint development, or a mix of the two. The novel feature of the present model is that different regional development patterns can be explained within the same analytical framework.