EQUITY AND THE BIG CITY

In this study, I attempt to answer two basic questions: how does the spatial distribution of population change during the process of development, and how do these changes relate to changes in the size distribution and regional distribution of income. The causal connection between population and income distribution is examined through a simulation model. The theoretical implications of the model's results are empirically examined at several spatial levels: at the national level, with longitudinal data from ten Asian and Latin American nations, and at the regional and subregional levels, with data from Japan, Brazil, and the Philippines. Finally, a multistage model of polarization reversal (with interconnected regional inequality changes) is proposed.