by
JE Abraham
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Calgary
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta
CANADA T2N 1N4
tel: 403-230-5897
fax: 403-282-7026
email: jabraham@ucalgary.ca
and
JD Hunt
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Calgary
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta
CANADA T2N 1N4
tel: 403-220-8793
fax: 403-282-7026
email: jdhunt@ucalgary.ca
presented at the 49th annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International in San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 14-16, 2002.
November 2002
Click here to view the paper in adobe acrobat format
This paper describes representations of spatial markets, and how such representations can be used as the mechanism for connecting together the various components of an integrated large-scale planning support simulation.
Over the past three decades many spatial planning and transportation planning simulation models have adopted random utility location choice theory, and integrated it into a traditional view of the economic system. These integrated simulations have been commercially successful and practical for policy analysis, but there have been a number of theoretical inconsistencies in the integration of the two theories. Recent work seems to overcome most of these inconsistencies. These simulations solve a system of simultaneous equations for a set of prices, and hence have been limited to considering equilibriums, or "point equilibriums".
Dynamic economic systems theory, with a "price update" procedure based on "excess demand", has been adopted in some more recent work, and is shown to hold substantial potential as a method for a more explicit method of representing time while still representing space. Most importantly, such methods can represent the disequilibrium that occurs in an evolving spatial system like the cities or regions that exist in the world today.
In the quest for more spatial and temporal detail, however, the traditional Walrasian theory of market behaviour (and the corresponding view of the overall economic system) that is the basis for these approaches tends to breakdown. A new approach is necessary which does not need to consider average ("market") prices and reasonably large aggregations of individuals, of time, and of space. This paper shows how a microsimulation of specific offers to purchase or consume baskets of goods and services in space can be broadly consistent with the Walrasian view, but more suitable for integrating detailed representations of the diversity of behaviour over individuals, time and space.
Markets, spatial markets, walrasian markets, spatial price equilibrium, random utility theory