Von Thunen Model .. Annette L. Parkhurst, M.Ed. With a little help from my friend, WIKIPEDIA.ORG
Background The Von Thünen model of agricultural land, created before industrialization, made the following simplifying assumptions: The city is located centrally within an "Isolated State." The Isolated State is surrounded by wilderness. The land is completely flat and has no rivers or mountains. Soil quality and climate are consistent. Farmers in the Isolated State transport their own goods to market via oxcart, across land, directly to the central city. There are no roads. Farmers behave rationally to maximize profits. Johann Heinrich von Thünen (1783 – 1850) was a prominent nineteenth century economist. Von Thünen was a Mecklenburg (north German) landowner, who in the first volume of his 1826 treatise The Isolated State, developed the first serious treatment of spatial economics and Economic geography, connecting it with the theory of rent. The importance lies less in the pattern of land use predicted than in its analytical approach. QUESTION: Why is von Thunen’s model still applicable >200 years after industrialization
It’s all about cost & proximity R=Y(p-c)-YFm RINGS: Market-oriented gardens & dairy Most expensive land, products (delivery cost), and very perishable (no shelf life) Wood lots Timber for construction and fuel Must be close because of weight of freight Crops and Pasture Commodities are rotated annually Animal grazing Requires the most space 5. Beyond the fourth ring lies the wilderness Distance from the city is too great a distance from the central city for any type of agricultural product. R=Y(p-c)-YFm R = land rent; Y = yield per unit of land; p = market price per unit of commodity c = production expenses per unit of commodity; F = freight rate (per agricultural unit, per mile); m = distance to market. Von Thünen developed the basics of the theory of marginal productivity in a mathematically rigorous way, summarizing it in the formula in which: R=Y(p-c)-YFm where R=land rent; Y=yield per unit of land; c=production expenses per unit of commodity; p=market price per unit of commodity; F=freight rate (per agricultural unit, per mile); m=distance to market.
PRO’S AND CONS PROS CONS Organized typical land organization (what was being practiced) Perfect world only Developed for small regional focus w/single market center but is easily applicable at the national or global scale Assumes all land is uniform (quality) Doesn’t account for topographical features (hills, rivers, etc.) Cost changes with land or water transportation Doesn’t consider social customs or government policies and influences