CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN DIFFERENT AREAS

Some facets of the evolution of consumer food shopping behavior are examined by a comparison of revealed preference studies in regions of differing economic development: Aguascalientes, Mexico (1968); Iowa (1934); Iowa (1960); and Michigan (1966-1968). The majority of rural Mexicans obey the Christallerian nearest neighbor axiom, but a few patronize the capital and regional centers regardless of distance. This behavioral variance is a function of household income. Comparison of the four study areas reveals that food shopping behavior may be universally subject to a dual assignment rule: households within a limited range of an opportunity exhibit a high probability of patronizing the closest place, whereas households at some distance from the nearest opportunity prefer shopping in larger places at greater distances. The absolute range within which the Christallerian axiom is applicable increases considerably (from two to thirteen miles) with level of economic development

articles: Optimal search on spatial paths with recall, Part II: Computational procedures and examples

This is the second part of a two-part analysis of optimal spatial search begun in Harwitz et al. (1998). In the present article, two explicit computational procedures are developed for the optimal spatial search problem studied in Part I. The first uses reservation prices with continuous known distributions of prices and is illustrated for three stores. The second does not use reservation prices but assumes known discrete distributions. It is a numerical approximation to the first and also a tool for examining examples with larger numbers of stores.Search, spatial search, spatial economics

The role of contact requirements in producer services location

The authors explore the role of contact requirements in the locationaltendencies of producer service establishments. Empirical evidence from two demand-side surveys suggests that close proximity between vendors and clients is required for contracts that involve frequent buyer - seller interaction (face-to-face linkages). These types of contracts are shown to be relatively low duration and/or low cost in nature. Specific activity classes that exhibit these characteristics include data processing, computer software development, product testing, and equipment repair services. In contrast, more advanced (and often more expensive) services such as management consulting and industrial design exhibit lower levels of contact sensitivity. The paper concludes with a discussion of forthcoming prospects for the development of a contact-based model of producer service location.