A gold rush theory of economic development

Author: Ossa Ralph  

Publisher: Oxford University Press

ISSN: 1468-2710

Source: Journal of Economic Geography, Vol.13, Iss.1, 2013-01, pp. : 107-117

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

I present a stylized theory of regional development in which regional first nature characteristics do not map uniquely into regional outcomes. The second nature force is social learning about fixed but unknown regional characteristics which can bring about self-reinforcing regional development. The key difference from other agglomeration economies is that the extent of local economic activity only influences beliefs about productivity but not actual productivity so that there are no localized external increasing returns.