Spatial Inequality And Development

What exactly is spatial inequality? Why does it matter? And what should be the policy response to it? These questions have become important in recent years as the spatial dimensions of inequality have begun to attract considerable policy interest. In China, Russia, India, Mexico, and South Africa, as well as most other developing and transition economies, spatial and regional inequality - of economic activity, incomes, and social indicators - is on the increase. Spatial inequality is a dimension of overall inequality, but it has added significance when spatial and regional divisions align with political and ethnic tensions to undermine social and political stability. Also important in the policy debate is a perceived sense that increasing internal spatial inequality is related to greater openness of economies, and to globalization in general. Despite these important concerns, there is remarkably little systematic documentation of what has happened to spatial and regional inequality over the last twenty years. Correspondingly, there is insufficient understanding of the determinants of internal spatial inequality. This volume attempts to answer the questions posed above, drawing on data from twenty-five countries from all regions of the world. They bring together perspectives and expertise in development economics and in economic geography and form a well-researched introduction to an area of growing analytical and policy importance.

Proceedings from 'Berlin 2009: Spatial Disparities and Development Policy' conference held in preparation for the World Development Report 2009.

In September 1977 a 'Regional Science Symposium' was held at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Organized because of the recent establishment at the Faculty of Economics of a group that is engaged in teaching and research in the field of regional science, the aim of the symposium was to make university members more familiar with regional science and to introduce the newly created group to the national and international scene. Two separate topics were selected, of potential interest to both re searchers and policy-makers. The first, spatial inequalities and regional development, was chosen because of its central place in regional science. Authors from several disciplines were asked to approach this theme from a general, policy orientated point of view. This ensured the enlightenment of the various dimensions of spatial inequality and its implications for regional policy. The results have been collected in the volume Spatial Inequalities and Regional Development. The second theme focused on spatial statistical analysis. This branch of statistics is a relatively new one which receives growing attention among researchers in the field of applied regional science. The meeting on this topic concentrated on new results of research on the use of appro priate statistical and econometric methods for analyzing spatial data. The papers concerned have been collected into another volume, Explora tory and Explanatory Statistical Analysis of Spatial Data.

Focuses on issues of poverty and inequality that are directly related to the Millennium Development Goals. This book addresses a range of issues, including interlinkages between conflict and inequality, poverty mapping, and the causes and consequences of inequality.

In this Element, we investigate how economic geography, the distribution of subnational economic endowments within a nation, shapes long-run patterns of inequality through its impact on the development of fiscal capacity. We present an argument that links economic geography to capacity through different types of industrialization processes. We show how early industrializers shape spatial distributions domestically by investing in productivity across their nations, and externally by reinforcing spatial polarization among late industrializers. We also show how differences in economic geography impact the process of capacity building, setting the stage for the modern politics of redistribution discussed in Volume II. We support this argument with descriptive data, case studies, and cross-national analyses.

In September 1977 a 'Regional Science Symposium' was held at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Organized because of the recent establishment at the Faculty of Economics of a group that is engaged in teaching and research in the field of regional science, the aim of the symposium was to make university members more familiar with regional science and to introduce the newly created group to the national and international scene. Two separate topics were selected, of potential interest to both re searchers and policy-makers. The first, spatial inequalities and regional development, was chosen because of its central place in regional science. Authors from several disciplines were asked to approach this theme from a general, policy orientated point of view. This ensured the enlightenment of the various dimensions of spatial inequality and its implications for regional policy. The results have been collected in the volume Spatial Inequalities and Regional Development. The second theme focused on spatial statistical analysis. This branch of statistics is a relatively new one which receives growing attention among researchers in the field of applied regional science. The meeting on this topic concentrated on new results of research on the use of appro priate statistical and econometric methods for analyzing spatial data. The papers concerned have been collected into another volume, Explora tory and Explanatory Statistical Analysis of Spatial Data.

2007 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Sociologists have too often discounted the role of space in inequality. This book showcases a recent generation of inquiry that attends to poverty, prosperity, and power across a range of territories and their populations within the United States, addressing spatial inequality as a thematically distinct body of work that spans sociological research traditions. The contributors' various perspectives offer an agenda for future action to bridge sociology's diverse and often narrowly focused spatial and inequality traditions.