Industrial Growth and Migration as Stochastic Processes

Abstract

<p>Intra-urban and intra-regional industrial growth and migration for the City of Hamilton are examined through the use of a simple Markov chain model. Tests to determine the existence of the properties of stationarity, Markovity, and "first-orderness" are conducted, with goodness of fit tests to investigate the quality of the model's prediction. Finally, forecasts of future distributions of industrial firms are given to show Hamilton's expected decline in the number of small (less than five hundred employees) industrial plants.</p>