Spatial Economics

An authoritative and cutting-edge exploration of how land, transportation, and economic forces shape cities, regions, and the distribution of economic activities from a local to a global scale.

Land, by its very nature, is immobile and unproduced, creating competition for prime locations that drives disparities in economic outcomes. Transportation, meanwhile, serves as the mechanism for overcoming spatial frictions but imposes costs that influence where firms and individuals choose to locate. Together, these factors explain the emergence and persistence of cities, regional disparities, and even global patterns of economic concentration. In Spatial Economics, Hans R.A. Koster, Stef Proost, and Jacques-François Thisse explore how cities, regions, and the global economy are shaped by the interplay between location, land use, and transportation. The authors examine why economic activities are clustered in large metropolitan areas and dispersed in vast areas, driven by the balance between the gains from concentration and various congestion and pollution costs. Blending classical theories with modern data and modeling approaches, the book addresses urbanization, spatial inequality, and the effects of policies like infrastructure investments and land regulations. Accessible yet rigorous, it offers valuable insights for understanding the geographic organization of economic activity in today's interconnected world.