Introduction to Economic Agglomeration Analysis

We introduce self-organizing two-dimensional agglomeration patterns in an economic geography model on hexagonal lattices with two types of boundary conditions: periodic and nonperiodic. Through a path-tracing analysis in these lattices, we obtain stable agglomeration patterns, such as hexagonal, megalopolis, and racetrack patterns. As transportation costs decrease, stable economic agglomerations progress from a uniform state to patterns with fewer and larger agglomerations. Hexagons proposed in central place theory are superior in stability compared to racetrack patterns. Despite differences in boundary conditions, a striking resemblance exists between the stable patterns on both lattices. Chapter 5 is the mathematical foundation for the bifurcation of the hexagonal lattices.