Yannis M. Ioannides
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691126852
- eISBN:
- 9781400845385
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691126852.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter examines the empirics of urban structure and evolution. It first considers Zipf's law for cities and the vibrant exchanges both over theory and empirics pertaining to it. It then ...
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This chapter examines the empirics of urban structure and evolution. It first considers Zipf's law for cities and the vibrant exchanges both over theory and empirics pertaining to it. It then discusses the Duranton model that explains three empirical regularities regarding endogenous city formation: a stationary law for city size distributions that is skewed to the right; churning of industries across cities as cities experience rapid changes in their industrial compositions; and the pattern of urban size transitions. The chapter also explores the empirics of urban transitions by focusing on models of urban evolution that allow for general intradistributional dependence; the hierarchy principle of industrial diversity; the link between geography and spatial clustering; and studies of urban structure based on “quasi-natural experiments.” Finally, it assesses global aspects of city size distribution and its evolution.Less
This chapter examines the empirics of urban structure and evolution. It first considers Zipf's law for cities and the vibrant exchanges both over theory and empirics pertaining to it. It then discusses the Duranton model that explains three empirical regularities regarding endogenous city formation: a stationary law for city size distributions that is skewed to the right; churning of industries across cities as cities experience rapid changes in their industrial compositions; and the pattern of urban size transitions. The chapter also explores the empirics of urban transitions by focusing on models of urban evolution that allow for general intradistributional dependence; the hierarchy principle of industrial diversity; the link between geography and spatial clustering; and studies of urban structure based on “quasi-natural experiments.” Finally, it assesses global aspects of city size distribution and its evolution.
Thomas J. Holmes and Sanghoon Lee (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226297897
- eISBN:
- 9780226297927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226297927.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
A question in urban economics that has attracted much attention is the extent to which the size distribution of cities obeys Zipf's law. This chapter considers a new approach to looking at population ...
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A question in urban economics that has attracted much attention is the extent to which the size distribution of cities obeys Zipf's law. This chapter considers a new approach to looking at population distributions that sweeps out any decisions made by bureaucrats or politicians. When comparing populations of geographic units, differences fall along two margins. First, one unit can have a larger population than another because it encompasses a greater land area, holding population density fixed. Second, a unit can have a larger population on a fixed amount of land; that is, higher population density. The chapter analyzes size distribution by cutting the map of the continental United States into a uniform grid of six-by-six-mile squares, and examines the distribution of population across the squares and the extent to which Zipf's law holds for each. A joint analysis of the distribution of population of squares within and across metropolitan areas is a fruitful area for further research.Less
A question in urban economics that has attracted much attention is the extent to which the size distribution of cities obeys Zipf's law. This chapter considers a new approach to looking at population distributions that sweeps out any decisions made by bureaucrats or politicians. When comparing populations of geographic units, differences fall along two margins. First, one unit can have a larger population than another because it encompasses a greater land area, holding population density fixed. Second, a unit can have a larger population on a fixed amount of land; that is, higher population density. The chapter analyzes size distribution by cutting the map of the continental United States into a uniform grid of six-by-six-mile squares, and examines the distribution of population across the squares and the extent to which Zipf's law holds for each. A joint analysis of the distribution of population of squares within and across metropolitan areas is a fruitful area for further research.
Helmut Satz
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- March 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198853398
- eISBN:
- 9780191888052
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198853398.003.0018
- Subject:
- Physics, Soft Matter / Biological Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
Communication in animal swarms is restricted to concrete events in the present. The collective development of language provided humanity with a new tool to register and communicate past and future ...
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Communication in animal swarms is restricted to concrete events in the present. The collective development of language provided humanity with a new tool to register and communicate past and future events as well as abstract concepts. All human languages follow Zipf’s law, indicating a common structure.Less
Communication in animal swarms is restricted to concrete events in the present. The collective development of language provided humanity with a new tool to register and communicate past and future events as well as abstract concepts. All human languages follow Zipf’s law, indicating a common structure.
Charles Yang
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262035323
- eISBN:
- 9780262336376
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262035323.003.0002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
A review of statistical facts of language especially morphology and children’s acquisition of morphology with focus on productivity. Contrary to popular beliefs, productivity should be understood as ...
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A review of statistical facts of language especially morphology and children’s acquisition of morphology with focus on productivity. Contrary to popular beliefs, productivity should be understood as a categorical notion in language, judging from the now extensive cross-linguistic studies of language acquisition. Why language must make use of a small set of wide-ranging rules, rather than memorized expressions, and why this is a difficult task for the child learner who acquires language in a few short years.Less
A review of statistical facts of language especially morphology and children’s acquisition of morphology with focus on productivity. Contrary to popular beliefs, productivity should be understood as a categorical notion in language, judging from the now extensive cross-linguistic studies of language acquisition. Why language must make use of a small set of wide-ranging rules, rather than memorized expressions, and why this is a difficult task for the child learner who acquires language in a few short years.
John R Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199290802
- eISBN:
- 9780191741388
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199290802.003.0007
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
Different elements of a language, be they words, sounds, phrases, or constructions, exhibit characteristic and stable frequencies. All kinds of psycholinguistic tasks show that speakers ‘know’ these ...
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Different elements of a language, be they words, sounds, phrases, or constructions, exhibit characteristic and stable frequencies. All kinds of psycholinguistic tasks show that speakers ‘know’ these frequencies. The matter is illustrated on the interpretation of garden path sentences. Frequencies are therefore ‘in the language’, they are not the product of language as used.Less
Different elements of a language, be they words, sounds, phrases, or constructions, exhibit characteristic and stable frequencies. All kinds of psycholinguistic tasks show that speakers ‘know’ these frequencies. The matter is illustrated on the interpretation of garden path sentences. Frequencies are therefore ‘in the language’, they are not the product of language as used.
Patrick Hanks
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262018579
- eISBN:
- 9780262312851
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262018579.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter discusses the various concepts represented by the term “word” and examines whether the lexicon of a language is a finite set. It shows that the lexicon is dynamic—that is, a small ...
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This chapter discusses the various concepts represented by the term “word” and examines whether the lexicon of a language is a finite set. It shows that the lexicon is dynamic—that is, a small infinite set—and considers how new terminology is constantly being created. In particular, the chapter addresses the problems of proper names and multiword expressions, both of which are sometimes included loosely in the concept “word” and are the largest growth area in natural language lexicons. It illustrates the problem with a case study of multiword expressions containing the noun fire before concluding with a discussion of Zipf's law, how ancient morphemes are combined to make new scientific words, the phonology of language, and contextual anchoring.Less
This chapter discusses the various concepts represented by the term “word” and examines whether the lexicon of a language is a finite set. It shows that the lexicon is dynamic—that is, a small infinite set—and considers how new terminology is constantly being created. In particular, the chapter addresses the problems of proper names and multiword expressions, both of which are sometimes included loosely in the concept “word” and are the largest growth area in natural language lexicons. It illustrates the problem with a case study of multiword expressions containing the noun fire before concluding with a discussion of Zipf's law, how ancient morphemes are combined to make new scientific words, the phonology of language, and contextual anchoring.
Guanghua Wan and Ming Lu (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- December 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198829225
- eISBN:
- 9780191867620
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198829225.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, South and East Asia, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This book offers a systematic and comparative study on urbanization and urban development in China and India. Contributed by a team of top experts from China and India, it contains original research ...
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This book offers a systematic and comparative study on urbanization and urban development in China and India. Contributed by a team of top experts from China and India, it contains original research papers that have not been published. The study aims at addressing two most fundamental issues of urbanization: why and where to urbanize. The first issue relates to the speed and scale of urbanization and the second issue relates to urban systems or spatial distribution of urbanites in different-sized cities. To answer these two questions, the book examines various drivers and compares the benefits and costs of urbanization from different perspectives, paying particular attention to the roles of markets, government and the society. This book presents evidence-based policy suggestions regarding labor market, land and housing market, FDI and capital market, education, environment, poverty and inequality, etc. The main conclusion from this study is: Asian countries like China and India will experience an urbanization path led by mega-cities. What the government can do is to improve liveability within cities and equalize life quality across cities. Given the similarities and differences of these two giants, it is anticipated that findings, conclusions and implications from this comparative analysis will be useful to other governments, institutions as well as researchers in Asia and beyond.Less
This book offers a systematic and comparative study on urbanization and urban development in China and India. Contributed by a team of top experts from China and India, it contains original research papers that have not been published. The study aims at addressing two most fundamental issues of urbanization: why and where to urbanize. The first issue relates to the speed and scale of urbanization and the second issue relates to urban systems or spatial distribution of urbanites in different-sized cities. To answer these two questions, the book examines various drivers and compares the benefits and costs of urbanization from different perspectives, paying particular attention to the roles of markets, government and the society. This book presents evidence-based policy suggestions regarding labor market, land and housing market, FDI and capital market, education, environment, poverty and inequality, etc. The main conclusion from this study is: Asian countries like China and India will experience an urbanization path led by mega-cities. What the government can do is to improve liveability within cities and equalize life quality across cities. Given the similarities and differences of these two giants, it is anticipated that findings, conclusions and implications from this comparative analysis will be useful to other governments, institutions as well as researchers in Asia and beyond.
