Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics pp 1–5Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Urban Agglomeration

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

Abstract

Urban agglomeration is the spatial concentration of economic activity in cities. It can also take the form of concentration in industry clusters or in employment centres within a city. One reason that agglomeration takes place is that there exist external increasing returns, also known as agglomeration economies. Evidence indicates that there exist both urbanization economies, associated with city size, and localization economies, associated with the clustering of industry. Both effects attenuate geographically. Theoretical research has identified many sources of agglomeration economies, including labour market pooling, input sharing, and knowledge spillovers. Empirical research has offered evidence consistent with each of these.

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Bibliography

  • Ades, A., and E. Glaeser. 1995. Trade and circuses: Explaining urban giants. Quarterly Journal of Economics 110: 195–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnott, R. 1979. Optimal city size in a spatial economy. Journal of Urban Economics 61: 65–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, D., and M. Kahn. 2001. Power couples. Quarterly Journal of Economics 116: 1287–1315.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duranton, G., and D. Puga. 2004. Micro-foundations of urban agglomeration economies. In Handbook of urban and regional economics, vol. 4, ed. J. Henderson and J.-F. Thisse, 2063–2118. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, M., and J. Thisse. 2002. The economics of agglomeration. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, M., P. Krugman, and A. Venables. 1999. The spatial economy: Cities, regions, and international trade. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E., and D. Mare. 2001. Cities and skills. Journal of Labor Economics 192: 316–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E., J. Kolko, and A. Saiz. 2001. Consumer city. Journal of Economic Geography 1: 27–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Head, K., and T. Mayer. 2004. The empirics of agglomeration and trade. In Handbook of urban and regional economics, vol. 4, ed. J. Henderson and J.-F. Thisse, 2609–2670. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helsley, R., and W. Strange. 1990. Agglomeration economies and matching in a system of cities. Regional Science and Urban Economics 20: 189–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helsley, R., and W. Strange. 1997. Limited developers. Canadian Journal of Economics 30: 329–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, J., A. Kuncoro, and M. Turner. 1995. Industrial development in cities. Journal of Political Economy 103: 1067–1085.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, T. 1999. Localization of industry and vertical disintegration. Review of Economics and Statistics 81: 314–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, J. 1969. The economy of cities. New York: Vintage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaffe, A., M. Trajtenberg, and R. Henderson. 1993. Geographic localization of knowledge spillovers as evidenced by patent citations. Quarterly Journal of Economics 108: 577–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. 1995. Expansion of markets and the geographic distribution of economic activities: The trends in U.S. regional manufacturing structure, 1860–1987. Quarterly Journal of Economics 110: 881–908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, A. 1890. Principles of economics. London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, S., and W. Strange. 2001. The determinants of agglomeration. Journal of Urban Economics 50: 191–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, S., and W. Strange. 2003. Geography, industrial organization, and agglomeration. Review of Economics and Statistics 85: 377–393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, S., and W. Strange. 2004. Evidence on the nature and sources of agglomeration economies. In Handbook of urban and regional economics, vol. 4, ed. J. Henderson and J.-F. Thisse, 2119–2172. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. http://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5

    William C. Strange

Authors
  1. William C. Strange
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

    Copyright information

    © 2008 The Author(s)

    About this entry

    Cite this entry

    Strange, W.C. (2008). Urban Agglomeration. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2838-1

    Download citation

    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2838-1

    • Received:

    • Accepted:

    • Published:

    • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

    • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5

    • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

    Publish with us

    Policies and ethics

    Search

    Navigation