Tomoya Mori

Bio: Tomoya Mori is an academic researcher from Kyoto University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Economies of agglomeration & Urban agglomeration. The author has an hindex of 19, co-authored 60 publications receiving 2329 citations. Previous affiliations of Tomoya Mori include Shinshu University & University of Shizuoka.

Frontiers of the New Economic Geography

Abstract: . This article presents an overview of the recent development in the new economic geography (NEG), and discusses possible directions of its future development. Since several surveys on this topic already exist, we focus on the selected features of NEG which are important yet have attracted insufficient attention, and also on the recent refinements and extensions of the framework.

Spatial Distribution of Economic Activities in Japan and China

Abstract: In this chapter we look at the spatial distribution of economic activities in China and Japan. Japan has excellent data and relatively uniform institutions since World War II, which allow us to track its spatial evolution and detail its key features today. For Japan we show how structural shifts in the national economy involved major transformations of the regional structure of economic activity. We address a central policy issue, the high extent of urban agglomeration in Tokyo. Then we turn to the details of the spatial distribution of industrial activity across cities, to see what general patterns hold and what they imply for our understanding of the role of different cities in the urban hierarchy. For China the approach is different. With the radical institutional changes since 1978 moving China away from being a planned economy, there is little consistency in data definitions and coverage over time and less detailed data are available. We focus on the last decade and on policy issues. We observe that Chinese cities tend to be over-capitalized and undersized, with strong spatial biases to policies, concerning migration, capital allocations, infrastructure allocations and location of FDI.

Micro-Foundations of Urban Agglomeration Economies

Abstract: This handbook chapter studies the theoretical micro-foundations of urban agglomeration economies. We distinguish three types of micro-foundations, based on sharing, matching, and learning mechanisms. For each of these three categories, we develop one or more core models in detail and discuss the literature in relation to those models. This allows us to give a precise characterisation of some of the main theoretical underpinnings of urban agglomeration economies, to discuss modelling issues that arise when working with these tools, and to compare different sources of agglomeration economies in terms of the aggregate urban outcomes they produce as well as in terms of their normative implications.

Economics of agglomeration

Abstract: We address the fundamental question arising in geographical economics: why do economic activities agglomerate in a small number of places? The main reasons for the formation of economic clusters involving firms and/or households are analyzed: (i) externalities under perfect competition; (ii) increasing returns under monopolistic competition; and (iii) spatial competition under strategic interaction. We review what has been accomplished in these three domains and identify a few general principles governing the organization of economic space. A few alternative, new approaches are also proposed. J. Japan. Int. Econ., December 1996, 10 (4), pp. 339–378. Kyoto University and University of Pennsylvania; and CORE, Universite Catholique de Louvain and CERAS–ENPC (URA 2036, CNRS).

Urban spatial structure.

Abstract: Author(s): Anas, Alex; Arnott, Richard; Small, Kenneth A. | Abstract: An interview with Chicago's current mayor, Richard M. Daley:'New York is too big this way,' the mayor says, raising a thick hand over his head. Stretching both arms out at his sides, he adds, 'Los Angeles is too big this way. All the other cities are too small. We're just right.' (Bailey and Coleman, 1996, p. 6)Mayor Daley is catering to a widespread fascination with the roles that urban size and structure play in people's lives. Academic as well as other observers have long sought explanations for urban development patterns and criteria by which to judge their desirability. Furthermore, as we shall see, understanding the organization of cities yields insights about economy-wide growth processes and sheds light on economic concepts of long standing interest: returns to scale, monopolistic competition, vertical integration, technological innovation, innovation diffusion, and international specialization. Cities also are prime illustrations of some newer academic interests such as complex structural evolution and self-organization.

Industrial Clusters: Complexes, Agglomeration and/or Social Networks?:

Abstract: The concept of industrial clusters has attracted much attention during the past decade, both as descriptive of an increasingly important phenomenon and as a basis for effective public intervention in the economies of lagging city-regions. However, there is much ambiguity in the way in which this concept is used, presenting an obstacle both to empirical testing and to realistic assessments of policy relevance. In this paper, we distinguish three ideal-typical models of processes which may underlie spatial concentrations of related activities, with very different implications both in terms of relevant evidence and the scope for promotional policies. Survey data for the London conurbation are used to explore the relation between concentration and different forms of linkage, with results which point to the dominance of pure agglomeration effects in this context at least.