Business connectivity, air transport and the urban hierarchy: A case study in East Asia

This paper explores the effect of business connectivity between cities on their air traffic connections, and in turn on their place in a region's urban hierarchy. Its focus of attention is East Asia, where economic development is underpinned by a complex set of international flows of trade and investment. Business connectivity is a key part of these flows. The research incorporates a measure of business connections in a regression model that previously relied on GDP per head, population and distance to account for international air links. Results confirm that business connectivity is a more important influence on the level of international air links within East Asia, and plays a major role in explaining the changes in city rank over time. The paper concludes with suggestions that possible incorporation of domestic air travel (itself larger than the intra-regional flows in this region) could enrich the insight of this approach.