Development Geography And Economic Theory

Krugman examines the course of economic geography and development theory to shed light on the nature of economic inquiry.

The authors in this book regard the process of economic expansion as a non-homogeneous and multifaceted phenomenon which has deeply affected human welfare, and cultural, social and political change. The book is a bridge between the theorists (Rosenstein-Rodan, Lewis, Myrdal, and Hirschmann) who in the post-war period analyzed regional inequalities, structural change and dualism, and the modern literature on economic growth. The latter has emphasized the existence of multiple equilibria, bifurcations and various types of dynamic complexity, and clarified the conditions for the emergence of phenomena such as cumulative causation, path dependence and hysteresis. These are the typical ingredients of structural change, economic development or underdevelopment.

1. Political Economy and Human Geography 2. Mathematical Models in Human Geography 3. Resource Management and Natural Hazards 4. The Challenge for Environmentalism 5. New Models of Regional Change 6. Uneven Development and Location Theory: Towards a Synthesis 7. Rural Geography and Political Economy 8. Marxism, Post-Marxism, and the Geography of Development 9. Nation, Space, Modernity 10. The State, Political Geography and Geography Bibliography.

Geographical economics starts from the observation that economic activity is clearly not randomly distributed across space. This revised and updated introduction to geographical economics uses the modern tools of economic theory to explain the who, why and where of the location of economic activity. The text provides an integrated, first-principles introduction to geographical economics for advanced undergraduate students and first-year graduate students, and has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect important developments in the field, including new chapters on alternative core models and policy implications. It presents a truly global analysis of issues in geographical economics using case studies from all over the world, including North America, Europe, Africa and Australasia, and contains many computer simulations and end-of chapter exercises to encourage learning and understanding through application.

What makes certain cities more competitive than others? Why is it that countries often find talent concentrated more so in a few regions than evenly spread across the country? What are the economic drivers that make cities more productive? These are a few of the many questions that this volume aims to answer.

The need for a better understanding of the role location plays in economic life was first and most famously made explicit by Bertil Ohlin in 1933. However it is only recently, with the development of computer packages able to handle complex systems, as well as advances in economic theory (in particular an increased understanding of returns to scale and imperfect competition), that Ohlin s vision has been met and a framework developed which explains the distribution of economic activity across space. This book is an integrated, non-mathematical, first-principles textbook presenting geographical economics to advanced students. Never avoiding advanced concepts, its emphasis is on examples, diagrams, and empirical evidence, making it the ideal starting point prior to monographic and journal material. Contains copious computer simulation exercises, available in book and electronic format to encourage learning and understanding through application. Uses case study material from North America, Europe, Africa and Australasia.

Taking a critical and historical view, this text explores the theory and changing practice of international development. It provides an overview of how the field has evolved and the concrete impacts of this on the ground on the lives of people in the Global South. Development Theory and Practice in a Changing World covers the major theories of development, such as modernisation and dependency, in addition to anti-development theories such as post-modernism and decoloniality. It examines the changing nature of immanent (structural) conditions of development in addition to the main attempts to steer them (imminent development). The book suggests that the era of development as a hegemonic idea and practice may be coming to an end, at the same time as it appears to have achieved its apogee in the Sustainable Development Goals as a result of the rise of ultra-nationalism around the world, the increasing importance of securitisation and the existential threat posed by climate change. Whether development can or should survive as a concept is interrogated in the book. This book offers a fresh and updated take on the past 60 years of development and is essential reading for advanced undergraduate students in areas of development, geography, international studies, political science, economics and sociology.