On the Economic Structure of Strictly Hierarchical Central Place Systems

Abstract

A strictly hierarchical central place system is characterized as follows: each city has a well defined rank; to a city of given rank there is assigned a fixed number of cities of the next lower rank; to cities of the lowest rank a rural hinterland is assigned. In this way a city of a given rank has associated with it an economic region consisting of all cities of lower rank and all rural areas assigned to it directly or indirectly. Let the set of economic activities in a city of given rank be a proper subset of the city of higher rank. Assume that production is characterized by constant input coefficients and that demand is described by proportional expenditure functions. The income (or value added) generated by each activity in any city of given rank can then be calculated. From this the income of cities, regions, and the population of cities and regions may be derived.