Impact of uncertainty on location

Abstract

Until now, the effects of uncertainty on location patterns have remained largely unexplored. Theories about the way in which firms make decisions to locate have long been restricted by the assumption that those firms know all the relevant facts when the decisions are made. This book is an attempt to generalise location theory to take account of the fact that firms are uncertain when they make their decisions. Among the topics discussed are the location of duopolists, the patterns of towns, the production decisions of firms, and the impact of the diffusion of innovations on location. The emphasis is theoretical rather than empirical. The book contains a collection of largely independent models which need now to be more fully tested and combined into a mathematical theory. This is an extremely important book for geographers and regional scientists. It should become a standard work for all advanced university courses in location theory. Show more