A Note on the Application of Spatial Interaction Models to Japanese Exchange Flows in 1899

Abstract

Spatial interaction models have been utilized by many different geographers so far and are one of the most active topics in current geography. Although the term spatial interaction covers a variety of movements, there have been no empirical studies of capital flows using such models. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the exchange remittance flows among fifty-seven Japanese cities in 1899. The analysis for total flow is carried out by use of the well-known family of spatial interaction models: the unconstrained, the production constrained, the attraction constrained and the production-attraction constrained models. Both negative power and exponential distancedecay functions are adopted. From comparison of several models in terms of parameter estimates and goodness-of-fit, the findings are explained related to the difference between human movements and capital flows. A city-specific analysis based on the attraction-constrained model is also undertaken. The estimated distance parameters are interpreted from characteristics of the cities under review, and it is also pointed out that model performances are decisively affected by the existence of two giant cities, Tokyo and Osaka. © 1986, The Association of Japanese Geographers. All rights reserved.