Economic geography

The economic geography, and economic geography, is the branch of human geography, which examines the economic structures, processes and functions of in spatial networks of various scales. The perspective may be, to businesses and companies, on regional-/volkswirtschaftliche aspects or mediating on a " meso " judge.

Classifications

The classical classification of economic geography followed the three economic sectors:

  • Geography of the primary sector (eg agricultural geography )
  • Geography of the secondary sector (eg industrial geography )
  • Geography of the tertiary sector (eg trade Geography)

Traditionally, the transport geography is often counted in the economic geography.

Other traditional classifications are based on the tasks of economic geography:

  • Theory ( explanation )
  • Empiricism (description, measurement)
  • Policy ( design recommendations for social actors)

Theories

Economic Geographical theories have long been divided into:

  • Location theories
  • Spatial mobility theories
  • Regional growth and development theories

Some traditional theoretical approaches ( 1970er/1980er ) are

  • The space- economic approach (eg Ludwig Schätzl ): in this approach are the main categories of analysis structure ( spatial distribution at the appropriate time ), interaction (interaction or migration of production factors and goods ), process ( the change in the former in the time sequence ); a key feature is the inclusion of neoclassical theory elements
  • The behavioral science approach: main thesis is that business owners also have other than purely economic goals and only limited information and is therefore often satisfied with " sub-optimal " results.
  • The functional approach: the subject of some correlations between objects and spaces or group-specific action areas
  • The welfare approach: object are social goals and ways to achieve them.

Even if some of the traditional approaches still have their place for certain research questions, new and different approaches have come to the fore:

  • The "new economic geography " (mainly of Anglo-Saxon authors outbound); The main features are
  • The mediation of spatial economic "reality" through culture and the social system ( " cultural turn ", "social turn" )
  • The consideration of the involvement of stakeholders in their environment ( " embeddedness " )
  • " Relational economic geography " ( Bathelt / Glückler ): viewing elements and basic concepts are here organization, evolution, innovation, interaction
  • The " Geographical Economics" (Paul Krugman, " New Economic Geography " ): The starting point is the observation that there is a spatial dimension of the economy, contrary to the neoclassical models ( urban processes, regional inequalities ). Factor search area: economies of scale, externalities, imperfect markets, transport costs

Methods

Among the methods used by economic geographers can be found, for example,

  • Methods of Social Research
  • Statistical Methods
  • Applications of cartography and use of geographic information systems

Research Topics

Some examples of current research topics:

  • A particularly topical issue of economic geographers is the connection between globalization and localization.
  • This Aufwertungs-/Lerneffekte as well as new dependencies of locations and regional production systems are at the forefront.
  • The sectors may include the extraction of raw materials (eg food industry), the manufacturing and processing industries ( eg automotive industry, electronics industry) and the service sector ( especially high-quality services).
  • The impact on the world of work ( labor geography ) form part of the economic geography.
  • Other areas include entrepreneurship research, clusters, logistics, etc.
Location (geography) Alfred Weber Integrated Authority File
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