Spatial Search
Structure, Complexity, and Implications
Published on 18. August 1995
Book
Paperback/Softback
VIII, 254 pages
978-3-7908-0874-2 (ISBN)
Description
Two areas have fascinated me for a long time. One is the micro economic theory of consumer behavior, the other one the role of space in economic processes. Usually, the two don't go together very well. In more advanced versions of microeconomic consumer theory its economic actor may face uncertainty, have to allocate resources over time, or have to take into ac count the characteristics of products, but rarely deals with space. He/she inhabits a spaceless point economy. Regional Science, on the other hand, describes and analyzes the spatial structure and development of the econ omy, but either ignores individual decision making altogether or treats it in a rather simplistic way. In this book I try to bring together these two areas of interest of mine. I do this by use of the microeconomic concept of search and placing it in an explicit spatial context. The result, in my opinion, is a theoretical concept with fascinating implications, a broad set of potential implications, and numerous interesting research questions. After reading this book, where I layout the basic idea of spatial search, describe its elements, and discuss some of its implications, I hope the reader will share this opinion. There are still plenty of unanswered research questions in this part of economic theory. Hopefully, this book will stimulate more work along these lines.
More details
Series
Edition
Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1995
Language
English
Place of publication
Heidelberg
Germany
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Research
Illustrations
6 s/w Abbildungen
VIII, 254 p. 6 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
406 gr
ISBN-13
978-3-7908-0874-2 (9783790808742)
DOI
10.1007/978-3-642-49346-1
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
12/2012
Physica
€96.29
Available for download
Content
1 Introduction.- 1.1 Some Important Relationships.- 1.2 Other Concepts of Search.- 1.3 Basic Elements of the Analysis.- 1.4 Aim and Structure of the Book.- 2 Economic Search Theory.- 2.1 Basic Search Models.- 2.2 Extensions of the Basic Search Models.- 2.3 Search Based Markets.- 2.4 Summary.- 3 Prerequisites: Graphs, Routes, and Computational Complexity.- 3.1 Graphs.- 3.2 Routes.- 3.3 Computational Complexity.- 3.4 Summary.- 4 The General Spatial Search Problem.- 4.1 Definition of the Spatial Search Problem.- 4.2 The Complexity of the General Spatial Search Problem.- 4.3 Incomplete Routes.- 4.4 The Relevant Alternatives in a Spatial Search Problem.- 4.5 Parameter Changes in the Search Problem.- 4.6 The Spatial Search Model and Economic Search Theory.- 4.7 Summary.- 5 Tractable Spatial Search Problems.- 5.1 Simplified Spatial Structures.- 5.2 Heuristics and Approximations.- 5.3 Summary.- 6 The Implication of Spatial Search for Market Areas and Firm Location.- 6.1 Standard Location and Spatial Price Theory.- 6.2 Search Based Location and Spatial Price Structures.- 6.3 Fette's Law of Markets and Search.- 6.4 Summary.- 7 Spatial Search and Agglomeration.- 7.1 Hotelling's Principle of Minimum Differentiation.- 7.2 Spatial Search and Agglomeration.- 7.3 Summary.- 8 Spatial Search and Spatial Interaction Models.- 8.1 The Gravity Model.- 8.2 The Intervening Opportunities Model.- 8.3 Discrete Choice Models.- 8.4 Search, Spatial Interaction, Discrete Choice.- 8.5 Notes on the Econometrics of Spatial Search.- 8.6 Summary.- 9 Conclusions and Future Research.- References.