  johann heinrich von thÃ¼nen (24 june 1783 â 22 september 1850) was a prominent nineteenth century economist.he "ranks alongside marx as the greatest german economist of the nineteenth century" (fernand braudel) von thÃ¼nen was a mecklenburg (north german) landowner, who in the first volume of his 1826 treatise the isolated state, developed the first serious treatment of spatial economics and economic geography, connecting it with the theory of rent. the importance lies less in the pattern of land use predicted than in its analytical approach. von thÃ¼nen developed the basics of the theory of marginal productivity in a mathematically rigorous way, summarizing it in the formula in which :r = y(p - c) - yfm \, where r=land rent; y=yield per unit of land; c=production expenses per unit of commodity; p=market price per unit of commodity; f=freight rate (per agricultural unit, per mile); m=distance to market. the von thÃ¼nen model of agricultural land, created before industrialization, made the following simplifying assumptions: * the city is located centrally within an "isolated state." * the isolated state is surrounded by wilderness. * the land is completely flat and has no rivers or mountains. * soil quality and climate are consistent. * farmers in the isolated state transport their own goods to market via oxcart, across land, directly to the central city. there are no roads. * farmers behave rationally to maximize profits. the use of a piece of land is put to is a function of the cost of transport to market and the land rent a farmer can afford to pay (determined by yield, which is held constant here). the model generated four concentric rings of agricultural activity. dairying and intensive farming lies closest to the city. since vegetables, fruit, milk and other dairy products must get to market quickly, they would be produced close to the city. timber and firewood would be produced for fuel and building materials in the second ring. wood was a very important fuel for heating and cooking and is very heavy and difficult to transport so it is located as close to the city. the third zone consists of extensive field
1783_births 1850_deaths Classical_economists Economic_geographers German_economists German_geographers People_from_Friesland_(district)