Modeling search processes in space

The paper extends the well-known economic search model to take into account the fact that all search takes place in two-dimensional space. This adds arouting problem to thestopping problem usually discussed in the search literature. The paper shows that these two problems are interdependent and can only be solved simultaneously. This relates thespatial search problem as it is discussed in this paper toNP-Complete problems like the traveling salesman problem, some of the most complex problems in mathematics. The paper discusses this relationship and closes with some suggestions about how to circumvent this complexity.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 30th European Congress, Istanbul, August 1990.