Dr. Martin Bronfenbrenner (1914-1997): Scholar, Critic, Cynic, and Comrade-in-Arms

ABSTRACT Professor Martin Bronfenbrenner's mark on the economics profession was significant and worth remembering. He touched the lives of many as a father, cousin, teacher, scholar, expert referee, colleague, and judge of important contemporary debates. Of special interest is his unique personality. He was a specialist in self-effacement, peppered with liberal shakes of cynicism and sarcasm. Despite all this, he managed to win the respect and hearts of individuals on several continents and across several generations. This essay brings a small but diverse part of the story together in one place.     

Topography and spatial population dualism in the People's Republic of China (1933-1990)

"Looking at half a century of available data, a sharp spatial dualism is observed in the regional population distribution of the People's Republic of China. The vast share of the PRC's population is located in the Eastern and South-Eastern regions. Two topographical variables related to accessibility, distance from the eastern seaboard and elevation, seem to be at the core of this dualism. Their isolated and combined effects upon the spatial distribution of the PRC's population are examined for the period 1933-1990. It is documented that the population concentration in certain regions of the PRC is not so much because of their proximity to the seaboard, but because of their low elevation, especially in the eastern part of the nation. Also documented is a result indicating that in time the combined effects of these impedances on the regional population distribution in the PRC is linearly declining."