Simple model for the dynamics of correlations in the evolution of economic entities under varying economic conditions

From some observations on economic behaviors, in particular changing economic conditions with time and space, we develop a very simple model for the evolution of economic entities within a geographical type of framework. We raise a few questions and attempt to investigate whether some of them can be tackled by our model. Several cases of interest are reported. It is found that the model even in its simple form can lead to a large variety of situations, including: delocalization and cycles, but also pre-chaotic behavior. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.