To a remarkable extent, students of location problems have fastened attention upon industrial and urban matters rather than upon agricultural and rural affairs. The preponderance of the former studies undoubtedly reflects the relative importance of the manufacturing and commercial sectors of the technically more advanced countries where most students of location matters have in the past resided. Perhaps it has also seemed that the locational problems posed by city life and factory employment are more amenable than those of the countryside to rigorous analysis.

Originally published in 1973, this book reports experiments in the modelling of freight flows in Great Britain, on the basis of 78 origin-destination zones covering the entire country. Its central purpose is to establish whether gravity model or linear programming approaches provide the most appropriate way of describing the existing spatial distribution of freight volumes and hence of predicting future flows, given possible allocations of population. Linear programming appears to be the msot useful way to approach freight modelling on this scale. The model outputs allow the authors to probe...

Interest in the geography of economic and social change has grown in Britain over recent years as people have become more aware of regional imbalances and as government influence on the evolution of the country's spatial systems has increased. The processes of spatial allocation are becoming better understood as new techniques of analysis are developed. But weaknesses and inconsistencies in public policies remain and have attracted the attention of workers in various disciplines, particularly geographers. This awareness is reflected in these essays, most of which deal with economic rather...

During the 1990s, the structure of local government in Scotland and Wales was completely reorganised by Acts of Parliament. Under other legislation, and in response to recommendations from the Local Government Commission, there was a partial reorganisation in shire England. This is the only study which examines these reforms in one volume. Running through this study is the contrast between the rhetoric used to justify replacing counties and districts by new unitary authorities and the realities of local government. The book reviews the reasons for the reforms, the processes and outcomes in...

The world economy has undergone rapid evolution in recent decades, along with changes in the importance of industries and their organization, and sharp changes in the fortunes of regions. There are differences of opinion regarding the mainsprings of change and development and the role of goverments in fostering national output. In order to show the relvance of these changes to regional economies, the book focuses on the different schools of economic thought - from the neo-classical, through Keynesians to Marxist/radical ideas and monetarist/supply-side thinking - providing a brief description...

This provocative volume represents a major contribution to the literature of regional economic development from the perspective of a distinguished geographer. Well written and a necessary addition for academic libraries at all levels.