摘要：The impact of cultural variables on the location of (office-based) service establishments can be significant, making the office location problem different from the plant location problem. The main reason for the difference is that many services, unlike goods, are "embodied"that is, these services cannot be transported independently of the person that produces them. This in turn limits the degree to which economic integration (or reductions in the friction of space) can cause the spatial concentration of activity. The emphasis of this note is on tradable producer services. In view of the growing interest in the services trade and of certain preconceived ideas about the integration of the global economy (the Canada-U.s. Free Trade Agreement, European integration, and so forth), a few notes of caution are necessary.
