Macro · Structures & Institutions Stub 1826

The Isolated State and Agricultural Location

고립국 지대론

A classical spatial economic theory demonstrating that differential transportation costs to a central market determine economic location rents and concentric rings of specialized agricultural land use.

Field Geography · Economics
Level of analysis Macro · Structures & Institutions
Paradigm Rational Choice Structuralism
Key figures 👤 Johann Heinrich von Thünen (요한 하인리히 폰 튀넨)
Year 1826

Key Claims

Johann Heinrich von Thünen formulated the first mathematical model of spatial economics. Assuming an ‘isolated state’ with a single central market surrounded by uniform fertile land, location rent is derived as: Rent = Yield × (Price - Cost) - Yield × Freight Rate × Distance. High-transport-cost and perishable goods (dairy, horticulture) locate closest to the market, while low-transport-cost extensive grains and forestry locate in outer concentric rings.

Further Reading

  • von Thünen, J. H. (1826). Der isolirte Staat in Beziehung auf Landwirthschaft und Nationalökonomie. Hamburg: Perthes. (English: Isolated State, 1966, Pergamon Press)

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