Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/87442 
Year of Publication: 
2012
Series/Report no.: 
Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper No. 12-124/VIII
Publisher: 
Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam and Rotterdam
Abstract: 
The majority of cities in our world is not only connected through conventional physical infrastructure, but increasingly through modern digital infrastructure. This paper aims to test whether digital connectivity leads to other linkage patterns among world cities than traditional infrastructure. Using a generalized spatial interaction model, this paper shows that geography (and distance) still matters for an extensive set of world cities analysed in the present study. With a view to the rapidly rising urbanization in many regions of our world, the attention is next focused on the emerging large cities in China in order to test the relevance of distance frictions - next to a broad set of other important explanatory variables - for digital connectivity in this country. Various interesting results are found regarding digital connectivity within the Chinese urban system, while also here geography appears to play an important role.
Subjects: 
Digital Networks
Internet
Connectivity
World Cities
Death of Distance
Centrality
Small-World Networks
Clustering
Gravity Model
JEL: 
O18
H54
P25
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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