Simulations of firm location decisions: Replicating office location choices in the Greater Toronto Area

Firm (employment) location influences the behaviour of individuals and households in the short and long term. This paper presents simulations conducted to test the ability of an office location model to replicate the actual choices of office firms in the Greater Toronto Area. It is found that including explicit search areas can significantly increase the ability of location models to replicate actual choices by office firms. In addition, simulation procedures themselves have an impact on the forecasting capabilities of the modelling system. Finally, despite the suggested improvements, the model system's ability to replicate location decisions of specific firms is somewhat limited.