Munich Personal RePEc Archive
Bifurcations in Regional Migration
Dynamics
Berliant, Marcus and Kung, Fan-chin
Washington University in St. Louis, City University of Hong Kong,
East Carolina University
28 January 2009
Online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/13053/
MPRA Paper No. 13053, posted 29 Jan 2009 05:07 UTC
Bifurcations in Regional Migration Dynamics
Marcus Berlianty
Department of Economics, Washington University in St. Louis
Fan-chin Kungz
Department of Economics and Finance, City University of Hong Kong
and
Department of Economics, East Carolina University
January 2009
Abstract
The tomahawk bifurcation is used by Fujita et al. (1999) in a model with
two regions to explain the formation of a core-periphery urban pattern from
an initial uniform distribution. Baldwin et al. (2003) show that the tomahawk
bifurcation disappears when the two regions have an uneven population of immobile agricultural workers. Thus, the appearance of this type of bifurcation is
the result of assumed exogenous model symmetry. We provide a general analysis in a regional model of the class of bifurcations that have crossing equilibrium
loci, including the tomahawk bifurcation, by examining arbitrary smooth parameter paths in a higher dimensional parameter space. We …nd that, in a
parameter space satisfying a mild rank condition, generically in all parameter
The authors thank Yuri Mansury for helpful comments but retain responsibility for any errors
herein.
y
Department of Economics, Washington University, Campus Box 1208, 1 Brookings Drive,
St. Louis, MO
63130-4899 USA.
Phone: (314) 935-8486. Fax: (314) 935-4156.
E-mail:
[email protected].
z
Department of Economics and Finance, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue,
Kowloon, Hong Kong. Phone: 852-27887407. Fax: 852-27888806. E-mail:
[email protected].
1
paths this class of bifurcations does not appear. In other words, conclusions
drawn from the use of this bifurcation to generate a core-periphery pattern are
not robust. Generically, this class of bifurcations is a myth, an urban legend.
Keywords and Phrases: Bifurcation; genericity analysis; migration dynamics
JEL Classi…cation Numbers: C61, R23, F12
1. Introduction
Economic activities are not distributed uniformly in space. Manufacturing often
concentrates in a few regions, resulting in a core-periphery pattern. How does one
region come to dominate others and become a manufacturing core? The literature
often considers a two region system. Beginning with a uniform distribution of immobile agricultural workers or farmers, Fujita et al. (1999) explain the emergence of the
core-periphery urban pattern using the dynamics of a tomahawk bifurcation when
transportation cost varies and other parameters are …xed (see also Fujita and Mori,
1997). When transportation cost is high, the symmetric equilibrium, where both regions have the same mobile manufacturing population, is the only equilibrium and it
is stable. When transportation cost is moderate, two other stable equilibria emerge;
when this happens, one of the two regions attracts all of the manufacturing, resulting
in a core-periphery pattern. When transportation cost is low, the symmetric equilibrium becomes unstable and the only stable equilibria are the two core-periphery
equilibria.
Is this type of bifurcation robust? Baldwin et al. (2003) examine the case where
one region has slightly more immobile agricultural workers than the other. The model
still preserves the feature of catastrophic agglomeration but the tomahawk bifurcation disappears. This means that the tomahawk bifurcation results from exogenous
model symmetry. In addition, they show that, in the footloose entrepreneur model,
the tomahawk bifurcation appears in the case of symmetric immobile population in
regions but disappears with asymmetric populations (see also Forslid and Ottaviano,
2003).
To illustrate how the underlying exogenous parameters, such as the location of
immobile population, a¤ect bifurcation patterns, let’s consider the following one2
dimensional dynamical system with two parameters:
x_ = a + bx
x3
where x 2 < and parameters (a; b) 2 <2 . This system exhibits the standard pitchfork
bifurcation when a = 0 (see Figure 1; the solid and dashed lines indicate stable
and unstable equilibria respectively). To show that this bifurcation is not robust,
we perturb a to 0:005 and obtain Figure 2 instead. The general contour is still the
same and the stable and unstable regions change slightly, but the equilibrium loci do
not cross each other. This is a saddle-node bifurcation. The same pattern appears
when we perturb a to
0:005 in Figure 3. The full equilibrium diagram against
the two-dimensional parameter space (a; b) is plotted in Figure 4. Consider all one
dimensional paths in (a; b) space and the equilibrium diagram generated by taking a
slice of the three-dimensional picture along any path. We can see that only in some
paths passing through (0; 0), there is a pitchfork bifurcation.
[Figure 1 Here]
[Figure 2 Here]
[Figure 3 Here]
[Figure 4 Here]
This paper provides a general analysis of the class of bifurcations having crossing equilibrium loci in a two region model.
This class includes, for example, the
tomahawk, the pitchfork, and the transcritical bifurcations. It is well-known that
such bifurcations are not stable: “all bifurcations of one-parameter families at an
equilibrium with a zero eigenvalue can be perturbed into saddle-node bifurcations”
(Guckenheimer and Holmes, 1997, p. 149). Baldwin et al. (2003) demonstrate exactly this by adding a slight population asymmetry while letting the dynamical system
change along the transportation cost axis. We examine equilibrium dynamics along
arbitrary smooth (C r ) parameter paths in a higher dimensional parameter space. We
show that in a parameter space satisfying a mild rank condition, generically1 in all
parameter paths this class of bifurcations does not appear.
1
Thus, these kinds of
Here, a generic property means a property satis…ed by parameter paths in an open and dense
set.
3
bifurcations are not robust, and their appearance relies on the strategic choice of
very speci…c parameter values. The rank condition just mentioned requires that the
Jacobian matrix of the dynamical system with respect to endogenous variables and
parameters has full rank at every equilibrium for all parameter values, and is standard
in the general equilibrium literature on smooth economies. We show that it is easy
to …nd such a parameter space.
Section 2 introduces the benchmark model and extends it to more exogenous
parameters. Section 3 discusses migration dynamics and presents the main result.
Section 4 concludes.
2. The Model
The core-periphery model features a two-region economy with the same resources
in both regions. The same populations of immobile farmers in both regions produce
a homogeneous agricultural good under constant returns to scale. A population of
mobile manufacturing workers can migrate between regions. These manufacturing
workers move to the region where they enjoy a higher utility level. The transportation of manufactured goods across regions bears a cost while transport of the agricultural good does not. Manufacturing …rms produce di¤erentiated products under
increasing returns to scale technologies, competing monopolistically. There are two
types of pecuniary externalities that generate forces causing agglomeration. These
forces imply positive feedback that comes from …rms locating near each other. First,
manufacturing production will concentrate where there is a large market with many
workers consuming manufactured goods. Second, workers will move to the region
where production concentrates because the manufactured goods are cheaper there.
The benchmark model is introduced formally next. We then expand the model by
adding three more exogenous parameters to conduct genericity analysis in a higher
dimensional parameter space.
The Benchmark Model
There are two regions in the economy indexed by i 2 f1; 2g. There are two
types of commodities: a homogeneous agricultural good and horizontally di¤erentiated manufactured goods. There is a continuum of manufactured goods of size
n 2 <+ , determined endogenously. Each manufactured good is denoted by j 2 [0; n].
4
Let pA
i 2 <++ denote the local price of the agricultural good, and let pi (j), where
pi : [0; n] ! <++ is a measurable function, denote the local price of each manufactured good j in region i. There are two types of consumers: immobile farmers of
M
population LA
who
i in region i 2 f1; 2g, and mobile workers of total population L
migrate between regions. Each worker is endowed with one unit of labor, supplied
inelastically.
Let A 2 <+ denote the quantity of the agricultural good, and let m (j), where
m : [0; n] ! <+ is a measurable function, denote the quantity of manufactured good
j. All consumers have the same utility function
u (m; A) = M A1
where M =
Rn
0
;
1
and 0 < ; < 1. A consumer in region i with income Y
m (j) dj
solves the following problem.
M ax
s:t:
The demand functions are
A; m(j)2<+
Rn
A
pi A + 0 p i
u (m; A) ;
A^i (Y ) = (1
) Y =pA
i ;
m
^ i (j; Y ) = Y Gi1 =pi (j) 1
where Gi =
hR
n
0
pi (j)
1
dj
i
(1)
(j) m (j) dj = Y:
1
;
1
is the manufacturing price index.
There are two types of workers, skilled workers who work in the manufacturing
sector and unskilled workers or farmers who work in the agricultural sector. Skilled
workers can move between regions, whereas unskilled workers cannot move between
regions. Neither type of worker can change type to move to the other sector. Each
worker is also a consumer, and supplies one unit of labor inelastically to the sector in
which they are employed.
The agricultural good is produced by farmers with a one-to-one (labor input)output ratio. For simplicity, the transportation of the agricultural good is assumed
to bear no cost. Thus, the equilibrium agricultural commodity price is the same in
A
A
both regions by no arbitrage; let pA
1 = p2 = p . Farmers retain all the revenue and
they have income pA .
5
Manufactured goods are produced by …rms that employ mobile workers. Labor is
the only input required. All …rms have the same inverse production function
l = F + cq;
where F; c > 0 are the …xed and the marginal input requirements in terms of labor,
whereas l units of labor are required for q units of output. The production technology
exhibits increasing returns to scale due to …xed costs. There is free entry into the
market that is subject to the …xed cost. Because of increasing returns to scale, each
j-good is produced by and is the only product of an operating …rm. Operating …rms
choose locations and engage in Chamberlinian monopolistic competition. Each …rm
chooses a location and charges a uniform free-on-board price for its product. Firms
make decisions simultaneously. Let wi 2 <++ denote the wage rate in region i.
Suppose a …rm locates in region i, charges price p, pays wage wi , and sells output
q (p), where q : <++ ! < is the demand of consumers. Its pro…t is
i
(p) = pq (p)
wi [F + cq (p)] :
A …rm in region i solves the following problem.
M ax
i
p2<++
(p) :
(2)
It is well-known that because of the assumed constant elasticity utility function and
the iceberg transportation cost (to be de…ned shortly), the elasticity of demand faced
by a …rm is independent of the locations of its consumers. A monopolistically competitive …rm charges a price marked up from the marginal cost. The pro…t-maximizing
price for a …rm in region i is pi = cwi = . Its maximized pro…t is
i
=
1
cwi q
F
(1
)c
:
The transportation cost of manufactured goods takes the Samuelson iceberg form.
If one unit of good is shipped across regions, the fraction 1=T of the unit arrives
(T > 1). Since …rms are identical and their behavior di¤ers only in location, we
label …rms and their products with their locations. This simpli…es the notation to
j 2 f1; 2g. We replace pi (j) with pji , which denotes the price of region j products in
region i, and replace m
^ i (j; Y ) with m
^ ji (Y ), which denotes the demand for region j
6
products by region i consumers (with prices an implicit argument). We denote the
utility function by u (m1i ; m2i ; Ai ), replacing the function m with scalars m1i and m2i
representing the quantity of manufactured goods consumed by a region i worker, and
letting Ai represent the agricultural commodity consumption of a region i worker.
Let m1Ai , m1Ai , and AAi denote the analogous quantities for region i farmers.
The
superscript denotes the region in which commodities are produced. Let ni denote the
number of …rms in region i. The total number of operating …rms equals the total
i 1
h
2
1
1
1
+ n2 (pi )
.
variety of products; n1 + n2 = n. Note that Gi = n1 (pi )
A region i …rm charges a free-on-board price pi = cwi = . Thus, pii = pi and
pji = pj T for j 6= i by no arbitrage. Substituting Y with wi , we have region i
manufacturing workers’ indirect utility:
vi =
(1
)1
wi Gi
for i 2 f1; 2g :
Manufacturing workers are freely mobile. They choose a region that o¤ers the highest
utility level.
Extended Parameters
Above is the standard model of the new economic geography. The model is usually
studied with varying transportation cost. In order to facilitate analysis in a higher
dimension, we augment the system with three more exogenous parameters. These
parameters do not change the model signi…cantly, but they do accommodate asymmetric parameterizations. Let
= ( 1;
2;
), where
i
be an open subset of <3 ; its elements are denoted by
2 ( F; 1) (for i = 1; 2) and
2 ( 1; 1). These parameters
enter the model in the following way:
(i)
i
parameterizes “regional …xed inputs”: The …xed labor input of a region i
…rm is F +
i.
Note that although …rms’ pro…t function is changed to
i
(p) = pq (p)
wi [F +
i
+ cq (p)] ;
their chosen price cwi = is not a¤ected.
(ii)
parameterizes “regional amenity”: Workers have preferences over regions as
follows. If a worker lives in region 2, her utility function is unchanged. If she lives in
region 1, her utility is factored up by (1 + ). The new utility function of region 1
workers is
(1 + ) u m11 ; m21 ; A1 :
7
This captures regional di¤erences such as the weather and the landscape. Note that
region 1 workers’ indirect utility is changed to
v1 =
)1
(1
(1 + ) w1 G1 :
An economy is speci…ed by a vector of exogenous parameters 2
model is parameterized at
. The standard
= (0; 0; 0). The basic structure of the extended model
and its equilibrium remain the same as those of the standard model, but there are
many other interesting ways to extend the standard model to more parameters; we
view this set of extended parameters as a natural example.
Equilibrium
To facilitate the analysis, we present the de…nition of equilibrium in a general
equilibrium format. Let LM
i denote the worker population in region i, and let Ai ,
(m1i ; m2i ) denote the consumption of agricultural and manufactured goods, respectively, in region i. Let AAi , m1Ai , m2Ai denote the consumption of farmers in region
i. Let q i denote the output level of each region
n i …rm. An allocation in2 the economy
o2
j
j
i
;
A
;
A
;
m
;
m
is described by the following list of variables: LM
;
n
;
q
.
i
Ai
i
i
i
Ai j=1
i=1
A feasible allocation satis…es the following constraints:
M
M
LM
1 + L2 = L :
(3)
1
A 1
M 1
A 1
LM
1 m1 + L1 mA1 + L2 m2 T + L2 mA2 T
q 1 = 0:
(4)
2
A 2
M 2
A 2
LM
1 m1 T + L1 mA1 T + L2 m2 + L2 mA2
q 2 = 0:
(5)
A
M
A
LM
1 A1 + L1 AA1 + L2 A2 + L2 AA2
LA = 0:
(6)
Equation (3) balances the total manufacturing worker population, each providing
one unit of labor inelastically, and the total labor used. Equations (4) and (5) balance
the consumption of each manufactured good and the amount produced. Equation (6)
balances consumption of agricultural commodity and the amount produced.
Facing prices pA , p1 , p2 , w1 , and w2 , the following conditions are satis…ed in
equilibrium. (Note that we have already imposed no-arbitrage on the transportation
of goods.) The entry of new …rms drives the pro…t of operating …rms down to zero.
1
=
2
8
= 0:
(7)
Workers in the manufacturing sector are identical and freely mobile; they migrate
to the region with a higher utility level. Let
M
= LM
denote region 1’s share
1 =L
of manufacturing worker population. In equilibrium, manufacturing workers’ utility
levels must be the same in both regions if there are manufacturing workers in both
regions. Thus, the migration equilibrium condition is
v1 = v2 , if 0 <
< 1:
(8)
Note that manufacturing workers’ utility vi is not de…ned if there are no manufacturing workers in region i. For completeness, we de…ne the potential manufacturing
wage of a region as the limit of the equilibrium manufacturing wage when worker
population approaches zero. Then, the potential utility is derived accordingly. Having all manufacturing workers in one region constitutes a (boundary) equilibrium if
the potential utility in the other region is not higher. However, since the crossing
part of the bifurcation is interior, we focus on
2 (0; 1).
An equilibrium consists of a list of prices and a feasible allocation such that conditions (1), (2), (7), and (8) are satis…ed. We simplify the system as follows. First,
by (1), the demand by workers in region i for the agricultural good and manufac1
pji
) wi =pA and mji = wi Gi1
tured goods are Ai = (1
, respectively, and the
1
demand by farmers in region i for the two types of goods are AAi = (1
) and
1
mjAi = pA Gi1 = pji
. By (2), pi = cwi = . Then by (7),
1
(F + 1 )
;
c (1
)
LM
i
qi =
ni =
(F +
i)
+c
(F + i )
c(1 )
LM
(1
= i
F+
)
:
i
Plugging the results above into equations (4) and (5), we have
LM w1 G11
1
+
A 1
LA
1 p G1
1
cw1
+
1
cw1
) LM w2 G21 T
(1
1
1
cw1
+
A 1
LA
2 p G2 T
1
T
1
cw1
T
1
(F + 1 )
= 0;
c (1
)
(9)
L M w1 G 1 T
1
1
cw2
T
1
A
LA
1 p G1 T
1
+
1
cw2
T
1
+
(1
) L M w2 G 2
1
1
cw2
1
A
LA
2 p G2
1
+
1
cw2
1
(F + 2 )
= 0;
c (1
)
(10)
9
Equation (8) can be replaced with
(1 + ) w1 G1
w2 G2 = 0:
(11)
Finally, normalizing the agricultural price to pA = 1, we have a system of three
variables and three equations.
The three equations are the last three above, and
the three variables are w1 , w2 , and . Let w = (w1 ; w2 ) and let f1 , f2 , g denote
the left-hand side functions of (9), (10), and (11), respectively. Let F (w1 ; w2 ; ; ) =
(f1 ; f2 ; g), F : <3++
! <3 . We will focus on the parameter space ; F (w; ; ) = 0
de…nes the reduced form static equilibrium concept for a parameterized economy.
Since the focus is on migration dynamics, the adjustment of market prices is
assumed to take no time. Once all workers choose a region to live in, commodity
markets reach an equilibrium instantaneously given the population distribution. For
…xed parameters, let w ( ; ) denote the equilibrium price under population , which
is derived from ffi (w; ; ) = 0gi=1;2 . In Proposition 1, we will show that this solution
is unique. With this structure, the migration balance condition (11), after solving for
w ( ; ) but with
as the remaining endogenous variable, is
g (w ( ; ) ; ; ) = 0:
Note that F (w; ; ) = 0 if and only if g (w ( ; ) ; ; ) = 0. Let f = (f1 ; f2 ). This
approach is valid if there exists a unique solution w ( ; ) to ffi (w; ; ) = 0gi=1;2 for
any …xed
and any …xed admissible parameters 2
. We use the following su¢cient
condition for existence and uniqueness of equilibrium: the system f (w; ; ) satis…es
the index condition if j Dw f (w; ; )j > 0 at every equilibrium for all
and for all
2
2 (0; 1)
(as in Mas-Colell, 1995, De…nition 17.D.2). This index condition
implies that the equilibrium of F (w; ; ) = 0 is unique by the Index Theorem (see
Mas-Colell, 1995; and Kehoe, 1998).
To explain further, the index condition is a standard condition from the smooth
economies literature that implies existence and uniqueness of equilibrium. In simple
terms, it uses the mathematical theory for an index of a …xed point to force uniqueness
of equilibrium. For example, in the classical exchange economy with two commodities, the condition tells us that the slope of the derivative of aggregate excess demand
has the same sign at all equilibria, namely whenever aggregate excess demand is zero,
10
so by continuity aggregate excess demand crosses zero at most once.
Existence of
equilibrium also follows from the index theorem.
Proposition 1. f (w; ; ) satis…es the index condition j Dw f (w; ; )j > 0.
Proof.
1
@f1
=
@w1
c
@f1
=
@w2
cw1
1
@f2
=
@w1
cw2
1
@f2
=
@w2
c
1
(w1 )
2+
1
cw1
B1 +
1
1
LM G11
1
) LM G21 T 1
(1
1
LM G11 T 1
1
1
(w2 )
2+
1
B2 +
cw2
1
1
) LM G21
(1
where
B1 =
LM w1 G11
B2 =
LM w1 G11 T 1
) LM w2 G21 T 1
+ (1
) LM w2 G21
+ (1
A 1
1
+ LA
2 p G2 T
A 1
+ LA
1 p G1
A 1
1
+ LA
1 p G1 T
A 1
+ LA
2 p G2
>0
> 0:
So,
j Dw f (w; ; )j =
=
+
+
@f1 @f2
@w1 @w2
@f1 @f2
@w2 @w1
2
c
1
c
1
c
1
c
1
(w1 w2 )
2+
1
B1 B2 +
c
2
1
(w1 )
2+
1
(w2 ) 1
1
B1 (1
2
(w2 )
2+
1
(w1 ) 1
1
B2 LM G11
2
(w1 w2 ) 1
1
(1
) LM
2
G11 G21
(1
) LM
2
G11 G21 T 1 :
2
(w1 w2 ) 1
1
2
The …rst three terms are all positive, and the fourth and …fth terms become
c
2
1
(w1 w2 ) 1
1
(1
) LM
11
2
G11 G21
1
T1
2
> 0:
) LM G21
Since T > 1 and
2
1
< 0, we have T 1
2
< 1 . Therefore, j Dw f (w; ; )j > 0.
This property holds for all values of endogenous variables, not just equilibrium
values.
Corollary 1. 8 2
, 8
2 (0; 1), equilibrium in commodity markets de…ned by
equations (9) and (10) exists and is unique.
The index condition implies a unique equilibrium for a system of excess demand
functions (see, for example, Mas-Colell, 1995; and Kehoe, 1998). It can easily be
veri…ed that f satis…es the properties of excess demand functions such as: Walras’
Law holds; f is bounded from below; and if there is a sequence of prices with a
component approaching zero, then the excess demand approaches in…nity.
Notice that since the Index Condition for our model relies on derivatives with
respect to endogenous variables, it is veri…ed for the parameter space that is a product
of ours and transport cost T , for example.
3. Migration Dynamics
The free migration condition requires that at an interior equilibrium (0 <
<
1), skilled workers receive the same utility level in both regions. Various migration
dynamics can be added, in a consistent manner, on top of this migration equilibrium
condition. Given some parameters
describes the dynamics of
2
, a C 2 vector …eld h ( ; ), h : (0; 1)
!R
after solving for w ( ; ):
_ = h( ; ):
The dynamics are consistent with the migration condition if the following properties
are satis…ed for all ( ; ) 2 (0; 1)
:
(D1) If h ( ; ) = 0, then g (w ( ; ) ; ; ) = 0.
(D2) If D g (w ( ; ) ; ; ) has full rank (equal to 1), then D h ( ; ) has full rank
(equal to 1).
Condition D1 says that stationary points of h select from solutions to the migration
equilibrium condition g (w ( ; ) ; ; ) = 0. Moreover, condition D2 says that the
12
dynamics of h preserve the rank of the Jacobian matrix of g in the parameter space.
The function g is the di¤erence in indirect utility for the two regions.
A stronger
condition on the derivatives, which is not needed in our analysis, would be: when an
exogenous change in parameters (keeping endogenous variables …xed) makes utility
higher in a region, population wants to move there. Conditions D1 and D2 rule out
strange dynamics that alter the nature of the economy. Our genericity analysis in
fact applies to all C 2 dynamics that satisfy conditions D1 and D2.
A common example of dynamics satisfying our assumptions is replicator dynamics
(Weibull, 1995; Fujita et al., 1999; and Baldwin et al., 2003).2 The population change
in a region is proportional to the di¤erence between the local utility level and the
average utility level:
h( ; ) =
[v1 ( ; )
( v1 ( ; ) + (1
De…nition 1. A dynamic equilibrium of an economy
) v2 ( ; ))] :
2
is a population ratio
2 (0; 1) such that h ( ; ) = 0.
Under D1, implicit in this de…nition is the fact that commodity markets clear,
since w ( ; ) is an argument of g.
Parameter Paths
The vector …eld h ( ; ) for dynamics is de…ned over the whole parameter space
.
Previous literature has examined dynamics when the transportation cost is changed,
keeping other parameters …xed.
This is a very special parameter path that fol-
lows along the transportation cost axis. The general case is when many parameters
change simultaneously, resulting in a one dimensional smooth path through the multidimensional parameter space
. Therefore, we proceed to examine the dynamics
along arbitrary “parameter paths” in the parameter space.
A parameter path is a C r map
: [0; 1] !
where r
2. In other words
2 C r ([0; 1]; ), where we impose the standard C r topology on this space of parameter paths. The path de…nes a one-parameter family of vector …elds h ( ; (t)), where
2
The replicator dynamics satisfy conditions D1 and D2.
13
t 2 [0; 1] is used to index the parameter path. Let E ( ) = f( ; t) 2 (0; 1)
[0; 1] j h ( ; (t)) = 0g
denote the set of dynamic equilibrium points.
Given this structure, we can de…ne bifurcations. An equilibrium locus from an
equilibrium point ( ; t) 2 E ( ) is the image of a continuous map e : [0; 1] ! (0; 1)
[0; 1] such that e (0) = ( ; t) and e (z) 2 E ( ) for z 2 [0; 1]. The equilibrium locus
takes as its domain the unit interval purely for convenience. A parameter path has
a bifurcation with crossing equilibrium loci at ^ ; t^ 2 E ( ) if for any neighborhood
around ^ ; t^ there are more than two distinct equilibrium loci from ^ ; t^ . This type
of bifurcation includes the tomahawk, the pitchfork, and the transcritical bifurcations.
Next, we claim that a necessary condition for having crossing equilibrium loci
at ^ ; t^ is that D( ;t) h ^ ; t^ does not have full rank. It is easy to see this as
follows.
D(
;t) h
^;
t^ , a vector with two components, has full rank if and only if it is not
zero. Say Dt h ^ ;
t^
is nonzero. By the implicit function theorem, h ( ; (t)) = 0
can be locally solved as a C 1 function of . This means that E ( ) is a C 1 curve in a
neighborhood of ^ ; t^ . Therefore, in a small neighborhood, there can be only two distinct equilibrium loci from ^ ; t^ . An analogous argument applies if D h ^ ;
t^
is nonzero.
Therefore, if a path
has D(
;t) h (
; (t)) with full rank at all of its equilibria
(namely where h ( ; (t)) = 0), it does not have bifurcations with crossing equilibrium loci. The next proposition says that if the parameter space is chosen properly,
generically in all paths there is no such kind of bifurcation. More precisely, the set of
paths without such bifurcations is open and dense.
We say that parameter space b satis…es the rank condition for h if D(
; )h (
; )
has full rank whenever h ( ; ) = 0 (such parameter spaces are used in Debreu, 1970;
Dierker, 1974; and Mas-Colell, 1985). This condition is standard in the smooth
economies literature of general equilibrium theory, and is satis…ed by an open set of
economies. In the language of that literature, it is called a regular parameterization.
Proposition 2. For any h satisfying D1 and D2, parameter space
rank condition for h.
14
satis…es the
Note that parameter spaces with more exogenous variables but containing
as
a subspace also satisfy the rank condition. Thus, it is easy to …nd such parameter
spaces as long as they contain a minimum set of parameters that have a full rank
Jacobian matrix with respect to endogenous variables and exogenous parameters at
equilibrium (see also Berliant and Zenou, 2002; and Berliant and Kung, 2006).
Proof of Proposition 2. Using the de…nition of F = (f1 ; f2 ; g) and
= ( 1;
2;
),
it is straightforward to calculate
0
B
D F (w; ; ) = B
@
0
0
0
c(1
0
0
0
c(1
)
)
w1 G1
By the index condition and the Implicit Function Theorem,
D w( ; ) =
1
C
C:
A
D f (w; ; ) [Dw f (w; ; )] 1 :
Then,
D g (w ( ; ) ; ; ) = D w ( ; ) Dw g (w; ; ) + D g (w; ; )
=
=
D f (w; ; ) [Dw f (w; ; )] 1 Dw g (w; ; ) + D g (w; ; )
D f1 (w; ; ) D f2 (w; ; ) [Dw f (w; ; )] 1 Dw g (w; ; ) + D g (w; ; ) :
This expression is a linear combination of three vectors D f1 , D f2 and D g, that are
linearly independent whenever F (w; ; ) = 0 since D F has full rank. Thus, we can
conclude that D g (w ( ; ) ; ; ) 6= 0 and has full rank whenever g (w ( ; ) ; ; ) = 0.
By conditions D1 and D2, we know that D h ( ; ) has full rank whenever h ( ; ) = 0.
Note that D(
; )h (
; ) having full rank does not imply that D(
;t) h (
; (t)) has
full rank, but rather implies a generic property of the parameter paths :
Proposition 3. For dynamics h satisfying D1, the set of parameter paths
that
do not have bifurcations with crossing equilibrium loci is open and dense for any open
parameter space b satisfying the rank condition for h, for example any b with
a
lower dimensional subspace of b .
15
We will use the following Theorem in the proof of Proposition 3. For a C r map
: A ! B between manifolds A and B, we say that b 2 B is a regular value of
if Da (a) has full rank whenever
(a) = b. We cite the following theorem (see
Guillemin and Pollack, 1974, p. 68; and Mas-Colell, 1985, p. 320):
Transversality Theorem. Suppose that
S ! <n is a C r map where
: X
X and S are C r boundariless manifolds with r > max f0; dim (X)
(x) = f (x; s),
s
s
: X ! <n . If c 2 <n is a regular value for
in a set of measure zero in S, c is a regular value for
ng, and let
, then except for s
s.
The proof of Proposition 3 follows closely the proof of Mas-Colell (1985, Proposition 8.8.2, p. 345).
Proof of Proposition 3. The set of paths
such that D(
;t) h (
; (t)) has full
rank whenever h ( ; (t)) = 0 is open because of continuity.3 To show that this set
is also dense, for any path , we construct a path
0
that is arbitrarily close to
and
does not have bifurcations with crossing equilibrium loci.
For any path , de…ne a map
: (0; 1)
[0; 1]
<3 ! <,
( ; t; a) = h ( ; (t) + a)
where a 2 R3 and
full rank whenever
(t) + a 2 b . Then, Da ( ; t; a) = D h ( ; ); the latter has
( ; t; a) = h ( ; (t) + a) = 0 (using the rank condition).
the Transversality Theorem, D(
;t)
( ; t; a) has full rank whenever
By
( ; t; a) = 0 for
0
almost all a. So, we can pick any a with this property arbitrarily close to zero and
set
0
(t) =
(t) + a0 . Therefore, D(
whenever h ( ;
0
(t)) =
;t) h (
;
( ; t; a0 ) = 0. Then,
0
0
(t)) = D(
;t)
( ; t; a0 ) has full rank
(t) is the path we want.
Evidently, Proposition 3 holds for any open parameter space b satisfying the rank
condition for h, including all b that contain as a subspace. For example, b could
include all of the parameters in
but also the transport cost parameter T .
simply easier to exposit our analysis with fewer parameters.
3
A simple proof by contradiction works well here.
16
It is
4. Conclusion
The study of bifurcations provides interesting insights into the complex dynamic
behavior of a system. It is important to study an economic system in a one dimensional parameter space when the chosen parameter is the main force changing the
economy. In the case of the new economic geography, that parameter is transportation cost. However, the real world has many parameters, and the choice of parameters
a¤ects the equilibrium (bifurcation) diagram of a system. This raises the following
question: Given enough parameters, what kind of dynamic behavior is typical? We
characterize the generic pattern of dynamic regional systems along general smooth
paths of parameter change in a higher (for example, 3) dimensional parameter space.
We show that, in a parameter space satisfying the rank condition, there is a generic
(open and dense) set of parameter paths that do not have bifurcations with crossing
equilibrium loci. Thus, the use of such bifurcations, for example the tomahawk bifurcation, to generate core-periphery urban patterns from an initial uniform pattern
is suspect because it relies on the strategic choice4 of very speci…c parameter values
and paths of parameter change. This has led to an urban legend.
It is easy, but notationally burdensome, to extend our results to more general
models.
For example, the two region framework can easily be replaced with n
regions. The arguments are basically unchanged.
References
[1] Baldwin, R., Forslid, R., Martin, P., Ottaviano, G.I.P., Robert-Nicoud, F., 2003,
Economic Geography and Public Policy, Princeton University Press: Princeton,
NJ.
[2] Berliant, M., Kung, F.-C., 2006, The indeterminacy of equilibrium city formation
under monopolistic competition and increasing returns, Journal of Economic
Theory 131, 101-133.
4
In particular, by the progenitors of the New Economic Geography. Point …nger here.
17
[3] Berliant, M., Zenou, Y., 2002, Labor di¤erentiation and agglomeration in general
equilibrium, mimeo, Washington University and University of Southampton.
[4] Debreu, G., 1970, Economies with a …nite set of equilibria, Econometrica 38,
387-392.
[5] Dierker, E., 1974, Topological Methods in Walrasian Economics, Lecture Notes
in Economics and Mathematical Systems, Springer-Verlag: New York, NY.
[6] Forslid, R., Ottaviano, G. I. P., 2003, An analytically solvable core-periphery
model, Journal of Economic Geography 3, 229-240.
[7] Fujita, M., Krugman P., Venables A.J., 1999, The Spatial Economy: Cities,
Regions, and International Trade, MIT Press: Cambridge, MA.
[8] Fujita, M., Mori, T., 1997, Structural stability and evolution of urban systems,
Regional Science and Urban Economics 27, 399-442.
[9] Guckenheimer, J., Holmes, P., 1997, Nonlinear Oscillations, Dynamical Systems,
and Bifurcations of Vector Fields, 5th ed., Springer-Verlag: New York, NY.
[10] Guillemin, V., Pollack, A., 1974, Di¤erential Topology, Prentice-Hall: Englewood, NJ.
[11] Kehoe, T.J., 1998, Uniqueness and stability, in: A. Kirman, ed., Elements of
General Equilibrium Analysis, Blackwell: Oxford.
[12] Mas-Colell, A., 1985, The Theory of General Economic Equilibrium: A Di¤erentiable Approach, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, MA.
[13] Mas-Colell, A., Whinston, M. D., Green, J. R., 1995, Microeconomic Theory,
Oxford University Press: New York, NY.
[14] Weibull, J.W., 1996, Evolutionary Game Theory, MIT Press: Cambridge, MA.
18
x
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
b
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
-1
0
Figure 1: a = 0;
1
2
2 < b < 2:
x
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
b
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
-1
0
Figure 2: a = 0:005;
19
1
2 < b < 2:
2
x
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
b
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
-1
0
Figure 3: a =
0:005;
1
2
2 < b < 2:
2
1
x
1
0
-1
-2
-2
0
-1
0
b
1
-1
2
Figure 4:
1:2 < a < 1:2;
20
2 < b < 2:
a