关键词: 位序规模分布, 首位分布, 经济发展, 人口密度

Abstract: We reexamine the relationship between the city size distribution and economic development of a country by using a new data set provided by Thomas Brinkhoff. We have made use of data on 118 countries in two census periods. The empirical results allow us to confirm that there is an invertedU shape between per capita of income and primacy index. There is a positive relationship between the primacy index and the economic development among the low income countries. However, there is a negative relationship between the two variables among high income countries. This paper also suggests that the central place theory has dominated influence on the city size distribution. Scale and agglomeration economies in production promote urban concentration while land rent and higher transport cost foster population dispersal. The results indicate that population dispersal will accompany with a countrys development and the population in primacy city of China will shrink in the future.

Keywords: Rank-Size Distribution, Primacy Distribution, Economic Development, Population Density