Generalised Thünen and Thünen-Ricardo Models for Asian Land Use

Abstract

Thüen’s model explains a land use structure in an ideal world, but the model hardly explains an actual land use structure in the real world. The first difficulty in Thüen’s model is its deterministic nature. When land uses are aggregated into parcels, it is impossible to determine all possible variables influencing rent. Thus, realistic models have to deal with land uses in terms of the land-use mix, which considers the uncertainty resulting from aggregation. The second difficulty results from its monocentric nature. The traditional models are strongly constrained by a single centred spatial structure, although a few studies attempt to manage a two-dimensional structure in a general and nontrivial manner.¹