The Location Invariance Theorem in Weberian Space Under Uncertainty

This paper examines the validity of the location invariance theorem in Weberian space under various types of uncertainty. The main results are: Given that the firm's location is constrained to remain at a specified distance from the output market, the optimal location is invariant to any change in product demand if and only if the production function is homothetic for a firm facing demand price uncertainty, or if the production function is homothetic and both inputs are risk-neutral for a firm facing technological uncertainty. Alternatively, given that the distance from the firm's location to the output market is a variable, location invariance occurs for a firm facing demand price uncertainty if the production function is linear homogeneous. In the presence of input price uncertainty the optimal location always varies with a change in product demand. The results can include those previously obtained for linear stochastic location models as special cases and some are new contributions to the literature. Copyright 2001 BlackwellPublishers