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HIERARCHIES OF CITIES AND THE SPATIAL FILTERING OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
Author(s) -
Moriarty Barry M.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
papers in regional science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.937
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1435-5957
pISSN - 1056-8190
DOI - 10.1111/j.1435-5597.1983.tb00804.x
Subject(s) - metropolitan area , restructuring , economic geography , division of labour , human settlement , business , location theory , process (computing) , economics , industrial organization , geography , market economy , computer science , archaeology , finance , operating system
The spatial division of labor and external economics associated with the nation's hierarchical system of cities are postulated to be part of the process involved in the spatial filtering of industrial development. In this process high labor costs in metropolitan areas cause less competitive industries to restructure their operations or be priced out of the larger labor markets. The industries priced out of the markets locate all or some of their operations in smaller settlements in more distant areas where labor costs are lower, given sufficient external economics. The research supports this general proposition but reveals differences based upon the types of industries and the location of their headquarter facilities. It also reveals significant differences in the locational patterns and site selection criteria of different types of plants established by local, national and foreign firms; these differences foster the development of spatially bifurcated or dual labor markets that are associated with regional city size distributions.