THE RANK-SIZE MODEL: A NON-LOGARITHMIC CALIBRATION∗

∗I want to thank the reviewers, Leslie J. King, Thomas Maratta, John U. Marshall, and Bruce Newling, for valuable suggestions on earlier drafts.

Abstract

The rank-size model of city-size distributions is ordinarily calibrated by means of a logarithmic transformation. Because this procedure gives undue weight to the smallest cities, the regression results may be unrepresentative of the overall structure and regularity of the rank-size distribution. In order to avoid this problem a non-logarithmic calibration is proposed. Empirical tests indicate that the performance of the nonlog model is superior to that of the log model.

Key Words:

• rank-size model
• log and nonlog calibrations
• small-city bias
• United States
• France

Notes

∗I want to thank the reviewers, Leslie J. King, Thomas Maratta, John U. Marshall, and Bruce Newling, for valuable suggestions on earlier drafts.