Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: K T Soo
Author-Name-First: K T
Author-Name-Last: Soo
Title: Zipf's Law and urban growth in Malaysia
Abstract: This paper performs a test of Zipf's Law (the size distribution of cities follows a Pareto distribution with shape parameter equal to 1) using data for Malaysian cities from five population censuses (1957, 1970, 1980, 1991 and 2000). We reject Zipf's Law for all periods except 1957, in favour of a city size distribution that is more unequal than would be predicted by Zipf's Law. We also find evidence against Gibrat's Law of proportional growth: smaller cities grow faster, as do state capitals and cities in the states of
Sabah and Selangor.
Creation-Date: 2005
Number: 570306
Classification-JEL: 
Keywords: Zipf's Law, city size, city growth, Malaysia
Handle: RePEc:lan:wpaper:570306