Title: Spatial distribution of economic activities and transboundary pollutions

Authors: Julien Ciucci; Dominique Prunetti; Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis

Addresses: Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orléans UMR7322, Rue de Blois – BP 26739, 45067 Orleans Cedex 2, France ' UMR CRNS 6240 LISA, Università di Corsica – Pasquale Paoli, Campus Mariani, BP 52, 20250 Corte, France ' UMR CRNS 6240 LISA, Università di Corsica – Pasquale Paoli, Campus Mariani, BP 52, 20250 Corte, France

Abstract: Different empirical studies confirm that individuals consider environmental quality in their location choices. Nonetheless, little attention has been devoted to the role of transboundary pollution in the agglomeration or spreading of economic activities. This contribution introduces transboundary pollution in the field of new economic geography providing an extension of Ottaviano's core-periphery model (Ottaviano, 2001). In terms of long run equilibria, the introduction of pollution into the footloose entrepreneur model has two major consequences. First, it allows several original equilibrium configurations, which do not arise by considering only transport costs. Secondly, for a given level of transport cost, different equilibrium configurations may occur, depending on the environmental parameters.

Keywords: agglomeration; economic geography; transboundary pollution; labour mobility; spatial distribution; economic activities; transport costs; environmental pollution.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSD.2015.066791

International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2015 Vol.18 No.1/2, pp.77 - 93

Received: 19 Apr 2013
Accepted: 14 Feb 2014
Published online: 06 Jan 2015 *

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