Jump to content

Iceberg transport cost model

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Anoopspeaks (talk | contribs) at 03:59, 12 January 2024 (Open access status updates in citations with OAbot #oabot). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.

(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

The iceberg transport cost model is a commonly used, simple economic model of transportation costs. It relates transport costs linearly with distance, and pays these costs by extracting from the arriving volume. The model is attributed to Paul Samuelson's 1954 article in Deardorffs' Glossary of International Economics.[1] Paul Krugman's 1991 paper on Economic Geography[2] is one of the more widely cited papers employing the model.

The metaphor is that an iceberg melts when transported, so only a fraction of the starting amount arrives at the destination. And a smaller amount arrives if the distance traveled is longer. A more realistic idea might be an oil tanker that uses up its oil based on the distance it travels.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Alan Deardorff's Glossary of International Economics
  2. ^ Krugman, Paul(1991) "Increasing returns and economic geography". Journal of Political Economy Vol. 99, No.3 (June 1991)


[edit]
  • Krugman, Paul (1991). "Increasing returns and economic geography". Journal of Political Economy. 99 (3): 483–499. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.322.8325. doi:10.1086/261763.