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Sobre el tamaño de las ciudades en España. Dos reflexiones y una regularidad empírica

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  • Goerlich, Francisco José
  • Mas, Matilde

Abstract

This paper proposes two considerations prior to the study of city size and emphasizes their importance in the testing of one of the empirical regularities most widely used by the literature, Zipf’s law. The first one refers to the importance of using a consistent database for analysis. The second looks at the unresolved problem of what exactly is meant by city. These two considerations are taken into account when carrying out a contrast of Zipf’s law, based on the generalization of the Pareto distribution. This contrast permits the rejection of this law for the assumed concept of city in all the years considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Goerlich, Francisco José & Mas, Matilde, 2008. "Sobre el tamaño de las ciudades en España. Dos reflexiones y una regularidad empírica," MPRA Paper 15798, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jun 2008.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:15798
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eaton, Jonathan & Eckstein, Zvi, 1997. "Cities and growth: Theory and evidence from France and Japan," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4-5), pages 443-474, August.
    2. R. Quandt, 1966. "Old and new methods of estimation and the pareto distribution," Metrika: International Journal for Theoretical and Applied Statistics, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 55-82, December.
    3. Ioannides, Yannis M. & Overman, Henry G., 2003. "Zipf's law for cities: an empirical examination," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 127-137, March.
    4. Goerlich, Francisco José & Mas, Matilde, 2008. "Los motores de la aglomeración en España: geografía versus historia," MPRA Paper 15797, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jun 2008.
    5. Manuel Artis & Javier Romani & Jordi Suri?ach, 1998. "Commuting in Catalonia: Estimates from a place-to-place model," ERSA conference papers ersa98p60, European Regional Science Association.
    6. Rosen, Kenneth T. & Resnick, Mitchel, 1980. "The size distribution of cities: An examination of the Pareto law and primacy," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 165-186, September.
    7. Goerlich Gisbert Francisco J. & Villar Notario Antonio, 2009. "Desigualdad y bienestar social: de la teoría a la práctica," Books, Fundacion BBVA / BBVA Foundation, edition 0, number 201190, October.
    8. Goerlich, Francisco José, 2007. "¿Cuántos somos?. Una excursión por las estadísticas demográficas del Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) [How many are we? The Demographic Statistics of the Spanish national Statistics Institut," MPRA Paper 17583, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Duranton, Gilles, 2002. "City size distributions as a consequence of the growth process," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20065, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Kamecke, Ulrich, 1990. "Testing the rank size rule hypothesis with an efficient estimator," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 222-231, March.
    11. Alberto F. Ades & Edward L. Glaeser, 1995. "Trade and Circuses: Explaining Urban Giants," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(1), pages 195-227.
    12. Xavier Gabaix, 1999. "Zipf's Law for Cities: An Explanation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 739-767.
    13. Spanos,Aris, 1986. "Statistical Foundations of Econometric Modelling," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521269124, November.
    14. Goerlich, Francisco José & Mas, Matilde, 2008. "Pautas de localización de la población a lo largo del siglo XX [Population localization patterns along the XX century]," MPRA Paper 15824, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2008.
    15. Alperovich, Gershon, 1988. "A new testing procedure of the rank size distribution," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 251-259, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gonzalo Andrés López & Francisco Javier González Moya, 2022. "El Índice Relativo Industria- Ciudad (Iric) En Las Áreas Urbanas Españolas: La Relevancia Productiva De Las Ciudades Medias," Revista de Estudios Regionales, Universidades Públicas de Andalucía, vol. 1, pages 161-196.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Population; Municipalities; Census; Agglomeration; Metropolitan Areas;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts

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