The place of central places in rural development: evidence from Grenada and St. Vincent, West Indies

This study examines an aspect of the market town development strategy proposed by E. A J. Johnson in The Organization of Space in Developing Countries. (1970) A model of central place hierarchies is proposed based on a theory of the economy as a living system. The central place hierarchy emerges from information-conserving strategics of individuals faced with the complexity of anticipating behavior in a population of unique individuals. An Input-Output model is specified as a model of industrial structure within a central place area. Evidence is presented that in Grenada and St. Vincent, some but not all rural areas peripheral to the capital towns have access to small market towns. Estimates of the immediate benefit from establishing the small market town industrial structure in all peripheral areas arc of low magnitude. On this evidence, substantial expenditures in establishing new market towns are not warranted, and the policy recommendation is to focus on integrating Johnson's development strategy in location decisions of ongoing development projects.