We study the long-run spatial distribution of industry using a multi-region coreperiphery model with quasi-linear log utility (Pflüger, 2004). We show that a distribution in which industry is evenly dispersed among some of the regions while the other regions have no industry cannot be stable. A spatial distribution where industry is evenly distributed among all regions except one can be stable, but only if that region is significantly more industrialized than the other regions. When trade costs decrease, the type of transition from dispersion to agglomeration depends on the fraction of workers that are mobile. If this fraction is low, the transition from dispersion to agglomeration is catastrophic once dispersion becomes unstable. If it is high, there is a discontinuous jump to partial agglomeration in one region and then a smooth transition until full agglomeration. Finally, we find that mobile workers benefit from more agglomerated spatial distributions whereas immobile workers prefer more dispersed distributions. The economy as a whole shows a tendency towards over-agglomeration for intermediate levels of trade costs.

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This paper aims to connect the bridge between analytical results and the use of the computer for numerical simulations in economics. We address the analytical properties of a simple dynamic aggregate demand and aggregate supply (AD-AS) model and solve it numerically. The model undergoes a bifurcation as its steady state smoothly interchanges stability depending on the relationship between the impact of real interest rate on demand for liquidity and how fast agents revise their expectations on inflation. Using code embedded into a unique function in Matlab, we plot the numerical solutions of the model and simulate different dynamic adjustments using different parameter values. The same function also accommodates the analysis of the impacts of fiscal and monetary policy and supply side shocks on the steady state and the transition dynamics of the model.