Spatial development and the law of one price : Evidence of convergence of land values

Many developing countries exhibit imbalanced spatial development, but corrective policies are hampered by lack of adequate sub-regional development data. Building on the insights of the factor price equalization theorem and by applying measures of spatial autocorrelation on land values, patterns of local development and linkages in the Philippines are traced. Evidence of convergence in provincial and urban land values is found in 1986-2000, although the clustering is more local than global. Thus, greater infrastructure investments and use of land values by local governments as policy guides should be made to facilitate in-country trade and migration, and to disperse growth.