Gravity demand functions, accessibility and regional trade

Gordon I. R. (1976) Gravity demand functions, accessibility and regional trade, Reg. Studies 10, 25–37. The paper examines the spatial stability of the gravity model relationship between regional trade flows and distance costs in the light of recent suggestions that the degree of distance deterrence is inversely related to accessibility. A re-analysis of British freight flow data suggests that any such spatial variation is probably attributable to the commodity composition of traffic and is sufficiently limited not to invalidate the use of (slightly modified) measures of economic potential. A broader aim of the paper is to offer an economic interpretation of the gravity and potential concepts within the framework of recent statistical derivations.

[1]  P. O'sullivan,et al.  Forecasting intercity commodity transport in the U.S.A. , 1974 .

[2]  S. P. Evans.  A relationship between the gravity model for trip distribution and the transportation problem in linear programming , 1973 .

[3]  Josef D. Moorehead,et al.  The commodity flow gravity model: A theoretical reassessment , 1974 .

[4]  David Marshall Smith.  Industrial location: an economic geographical analysis , 1971 .

[5]  J. Ord,et al.  Evaluating the friction of distance parameter in gravity models , 1974 .

[6]  Alan Wilson,et al.  A statistical theory of spatial distribution models , 1967 .

[7]  J. H. Niedercorn,et al.  AN ECONOMIC DERIVATION OF THE “GRAVITY LAW” OF SPATIAL INTERACTION: A FURTHER REPLY AND A REFORMULATION , 1972 .

[8]  W. R. Black.  INTERREGIONAL COMMODITY FLOWS: SOME EXPERIMENTS WITH THE GRAVITY MODEL , 1972 .

[9]  G. Hyman.  The Calibration of Trip Distribution Models , 1969 .

[10]  M. Kreinin.  Price Elasticities in International Trade , 1967 .

[11]  The gravity hypothesis and transportation cost minimisation: A comment , 1974 .

[12]  John A. Sawyer,et al.  An econometric study of international trade flows , 1967 .

[13]  Alan Wilson,et al.  SOME RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ENTROPY MAXIMIZING MODELS, MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING MODELS, AND THEIR DUALS* , 1974 .

[14]  Rudolf R. Rhomberg,et al.  Prices and Export Performance of Industrial Countries, 1953-63 , 1965 .

[15]  R. Lipsey,et al.  The Elasticity of Substitution as a Variable in World Trade , 1972 .

[16]  W. Leontief,et al.  Multiregional Input-Output Analysis , 1963 .

[17]  R. H. Strotz.  The Empirical Implications of a Utility Tree , 1957 .

[18]  E. Simpson,et al.  A Study in United Kingdom Imports , 1963 .

[19]  G. Macdougall.  British and American Exports: A Study Suggested by the Theory of Comparative Costs. Part I , 1951 .

[20]  J. H. Niedercorn,et al.  AN ECONOMIC DERIVATION OF THE “GRAVITY LAW” OF SPATIAL INTERACTION* , 1969 .

[21]  Thomas F. Golob,et al.  An economic utility theory approach to spatial interaction , 1973 .

[22]  L. Curry.  A Spatial Analysis of Gravity Flows , 1972, The Random Spatial Economy and Its Evolution.

[23]  J. Q. Stewart.  Empirical Mathematical Rules concerning the Distribution and Equilibrium of Population , 1947 .

[24]  W. M. Gorman.  SEPARABLE UTILITY AND AGGREGATION , 1959 .

[25]  Michael Chisholm.  Spatial policy problems of the British economy: Freight transport costs, industrial location and regional development , 1971 .

[26]  Michael Chisholm,et al.  Freight Flows and Spatial Aspects of the British Economy , 1973 .