Oedzge Atzema, Ton van Rietbergen, Jan Lambooy and Sjef van Hoof - Dynamics in economic geography

1 Application possibilities for economic geography This book on economic geography addresses the main theoretical strands at the intersection of economics and geography. Economic geography has been around for centuries and has proven to be a useful discipline, whether it focuses on trade in colonial times or the current Internet era. At its most succinct, the question an economic geographer asks is ‘What happens where and why is it happening there?’ He devotes particular attention to spatial differences in costs and benefits between nations, regions and cities. The global imbalance in wealth distribution is a typical economic geography topic. Using data like those from the World Bank, economic geographers explain such imbalances by examining the distribution of raw materials and factors of production such as labour, capital and land. Factors affecting the accessibility of regions, such as harbours and roads, are also important, as are the scale and composition of industrial activity. The productivity of a region, and thus its ability to generate income, varies per industrial sector. In addition to economic factors, cultural, social, political and natural ones influence global wealth distribution. Though economic geography rests on a theoretical foundation, it is an applied science. This means economic geography knowledge has to be ‘use able’ by government and industry. Two questions are at the heart of economic geography: ■ Why does a company establish itself in region A and not in region B (i.e. factors that influence the choice of location for industry, utilities and households)? ■ Why are some countries, regions or cities economically more successful than others (i.e. factors that influence the development of countries, regions or cities)? These two questions underlie the structure of this book. In Chapters 2 to 9, they are addressed from a variety of perspectives: neoclassical, behavioural, institutional and evolutionary. This chapter gives a historical overview of the relations between economics and geography. The tenth and final chapter focuses on the current state of economic geography.

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