The Location of Service Outlets: An Economist's Perspective

Abstract

The intention of this article is to illustrate the usefulness of economic analysis as a first stage in analysing the determinants of the locational decisions by service outlets. Although economic analysis cannot explain fully the reasons why an individual firm chooses any particular location, it does provide us with a methodology for isolating the major determinants of the locational decisions of service outlets. By using this analysis the author has shown why service outlets have tended, in recent years, to move into shopping centres. Moreover, the analysis suggests why these central locations are so important for certain service outlets.