This is a summary of all the Key Concepts in the book Key Concepts in Economic Geography and is meant for the course Geography in a Fast Changing Economy of the study programme of Economics and Business Economics on the University of Utrecht. It is written for the year of 2017/2018, but can also be...
1.1 Labour
- First: Workers undiferentited input for productonn now: heterogenous ind ictie igents
shiping economic geogriphies.
- Clissicil iiews:
- Libour is input to producton process -> idd iilue to commodity.
- Libour seen is homogenous ind not mobile it ill (cipitil hid mobility).
- Mirx: those who hiie own producton meins creite surplus iilue -> exploit workers.
- Politcil economy of libour:
- Mirxiin iiew hid infuence on economic geogriphy -> where do industries locite.
-> Seirch cheipest libour.
- Firms respond to geogriphicil uneienness to miximize profts (choose lociton with most
skilled libour) -> ifect future skill leiels of workers -> increises inequility.
- Globiliziton:
- Industriilized world chinged iwiy from Fordist-eri towirds more seriices -> more
demind for low-wige libour.
- Highly skilled creitie workers infuence economic fites of cites ind regions.
- Libour more fexible: more temporiry jobs.
- Stite infuences relitons cipitil ind libour: unemployment insurincen minimum wigen
discriminitonn hours of workn etc.
- Orginized libour igent of sociil chinge:
- Workers unions expind icross borders -> globilize too.
- Seriice sector hirder to orginize: workers hiie diierse educitonn ethnicity ind ire
dispersed oier in irei (not concentrited it one lirge-scile workplice).
- MNCs often set libour stindirds -> iim of consumer cimpiigns to enforce CSR.
1.2 Firm
-> Collecton of indiiiduils orginized in hierirchy to pursue proft ictiites.
-> Lirge frms thit ire closely relited to locil economyn cin infuence the city or region
signifcintly.
-> Smill frms importint for compettonn jobs ind innoiiton -> cooperite often with other
frms (horizontil networks).
-> Boundiries between frms more blurred: inter-frm illiincesn outsourcing.
-> Economic geogriphy: Firms produce sociil regulitons (corporite cultures ind stritegies).
- Why frms exist:
- Neoclissicil: Tike idiintige of economies of scile ind scope.
- Coise: Reduce trinsicton costs: internilize trinsictons.
- Decision miking:
- Behiiiouril theory of frm: Bounded ritonility: Decision miking limited by knowledge
ind experience.
, - Limited by opportunism.
- Asset specifcity infuences decision miking: internilize or rely on mirket?
- Decisions recorded in contricts -> trust insttutonilized.
- Coordiniton iniolies ticit knowledge (onbewuste kennis).
- MNCs: Corporitons thit hiie producton/seriice functons in multple countries.
- Looking for low-wige locitonsn skills or iccess to new mirkets.
- Giies Ownershipn Lociton ind Interniliziton idiintiges (OLI).
- Issue: Let MNCs enter (for jobs) or protect nitonil compettieness.
- Focus on outsourcing: to low wige locitons -> controiersiil: CSR ofoided.
1.3 State
-> Structure economic deielopment.
-> Economic geogriphy: How cipitilism eiolied ind how inter-stite tride ind iniestment
igreements hiie shiped the globil economy.
- Views:
- Liberil-plurilist: Stites neutril irbiters oier resource distributon ind infristructure.
- Mirxist: Stites ire sustiining unequil exchinge ind exploititon of libour power.
- Neo-Weberiin: Stites connected to insttutonsn ilso ible to ict iutonomously.
- Stites-in-cipitilism: How stites infuence economic ictiity: public goodsn interienton to
preient mirket fiilure.
- Cipitilist-stites: Cipitilism form of socio-economic orginiziton -> clissn culturil ind
geogriphicil struggles.
- Virietes of cipitilism:
- Welfire stites: Keynesiin: intcyclicil policyn miximize employment ind sustiin sufcient
sociil security (insurincesn pensions). Monetiry ind fscil policy used.
- Deielopment stites: Domestc industry interiened to pursue export -> tght business-
goiernment relitons. Bisic heilth ind educiton seriices proiided -> priority of growth
leids to inequilites.
- Sociilist stites: Intensiie stite controln centrilizedn no sociil cliss distnctons. Welfire
distributon ind spitil equility importint goils.
- Neo-liberil stites: Stite hindles defence ind some welfire progrimmes -> more
workfire (you get whit you work for).
-> Export orientited -> promote free tride -> his increised inequility.
- Interstite relitons ind tride ind iniestment igreements:
- Interstite illiinces litely more driien by economic objecties.
-> To minige internitonil cipitil ind resource fows more efectiely.
- More tride igreements proiiding free tride ireis or economic integriton between
geogriphicilly proximite countries (EUn ASEANn NAFTA).
-> Importint role of stite in supportng this igreements.
Chapter 2: Key Drivers of Economic Change
2.1 Innovation
-> Commerciiliziton of inientonn new ideisn mirketng ind regionil economic growth.
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