An input-output approach to the analysis of centripetal and centrifugal forces in Madrid and Barcelona

Abstract

The spatial dynamics of dispersion/concentration of economic activity can be explained by opposing centripetal and centrifugal forces. Neoclassical economics provides a precise explanation for centrifugal processes but it was not until the advent of the New Economic Geography that the existence and workings of centripetal forces were understood. These dynamics are found at international as well as national and local level. In applications at local level it is particularly interesting to understand how the interaction of centripetal and centrifugal forces shapes urban structure and determines commuter flows. The objective of this study is to apply a model grounded in input-output methodology to the analysis of centripetal and centrifugal interactions in the metropolitan areas of Madrid and Barcelona. The period covered is 1991-2001, corresponding to the most recent individual data available from the Census of Population and Households carried out by the National Statistics Institute (INE). Our results allow us to conclude that neither Barcelona nor Madrid is dominated by centrifugal forces. Both metropolitan centres are revealed to have a monocentric structure where commuting flows are directed towards the capitals, although in the Barcelona metropolitan area one can observe the coexistence of residential areas and subcentres of mainly industrial work.