Collaborative Research: A Unified Approach to Spatial Economics

Project Outcomes Statement

This research project advances the understanding of general equilibrium spatial models, with special emphasis on their policy implications. To do so, the project led to the development of an integrated spatial framework encompassing a large number of general equilibrium economic models in which many locations are connected through one or more spatial linkages (e.g. trade, commuting, spatial knowledge spillovers). This project further developed new tools to characterize both the theoretical and empirical properties of the equilibrium of such models. Lastly, the project applies the framework and toolkit to address a number of important policy questions such as: what are the economic impacts of infrastructure investment projects; and what are the effects of shocks on the evolution of economic development across space?

The project resulted in a series of research papers, including articles published in the leading economic journals Econometrica, the Journal of Political Economy, and the Review of Economic Studies. These research papers -- and the public dissemination of their results through teaching, research collaboration with students, and numerous presentations at universities and conferences -- have contributed to the advancement of knowledge in a number of ways, including by: (1) integrating the fields of trade, economic geography, and urban economics by providing a single unified framework suitable for the study of many types of spatial interactions; (2) offering a general characterization of the positive properties of spatial equilibria; and (3) developing new tools to conduct the empirical analysis of spatial models on real world economic phenomena and characterize optimal spatial policies.