Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/123883 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
53rd Congress of the European Regional Science Association: "Regional Integration: Europe, the Mediterranean and the World Economy", 27-31 August 2013, Palermo, Italy
Publisher: 
European Regional Science Association (ERSA), Louvain-la-Neuve
Abstract: 
This paper reconsiders the evolution of the growth of American cities since 1790 in light of new theories of urban growth. Our null hypothesis for long-term growth is random growth. We obtain evidence supporting random growth against the alternative of mean reversion (convergence) in city sizes using panel unit root tests. We also examine mobility within the distribution to try to extract growth patterns different from the general unit root trend detected. We find evidence of high mobility when we model growth as a first-order Markov process. Finally, using a cluster procedure we find strong evidence in favor of conditional convergence in city growth rates within convergence clubs, which we interpret as 'local' mean-reverting behaviors. We interpret the high mobility and the results of the clustering analysis as signs of a sequential city growth pattern.
Subjects: 
city size
urban growth
random growth
sequential city growth
transition matrices
club convergence
Document Type: 
Conference Paper

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