Extending Carlino-Mills models to examine urban size and growth impacts onproximate rural areas

A modification of the Boarnet model of local economic change is developed t hat links the growth of urban nodes in functional economic regions to emplo yment and population change in the rural hinterlands of these regions. The two-equation model uses labor market and residential zone observations that are consistent with commuter fields around each rural community in the reg ions studied. The model parameters are estimated for 204 Danish rural munic ipalities, for 3515 rural communes in six regions of Eastern France, and fo r 268 rural census tracts in South Carolina. Results indicate that urban no dal spread effects are often significant and tend to dominate urban backwas h impacts on rural communities. Accordingly, rural communities need to be c oncerned with the economic fortunes of their urban nodes and with policies that affect the pattern of urban growth between urban center and the urban fringe.