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Encyclopedia > Economic geography

Economic geography is the study of the location, distribution and spatial organisation of economic activities across the Earth. It focuses on the location of industries and retail and wholesale businesses, on transportation and trade, and on the changing value of real estate. Courses in economic geography may cover such topics as transportation, agriculture, industrial location, world trade, and the spatial organisation and function of business activity. Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ...

Contents

Areas of study

The distribution of economic activities on Earth is influenced by many environmental, social, political, historical and other factors. Geology can affect resource availability, geomorphology, the cost of transportation, and the quality of soiled land alter economic activities. Climate can influence natural resource availability (forestry products) and location or type of agriculture (see growing region). The social and political factors that are unique to a particular region also have an impact on economic decisions and further distributions of these activities. A growing region is an area suited by climate and soil conditions to the cultivation of a certain type of crop. ...


Economic geography research focuses on the study of spatial aspects of economic activities on various scales. The distance to the city (or Central business district) as a marketplace with demand for products plays a significant role in economic decisions of firms while other factors such as access to the sea and the presence of raw materials like oil affects the economic conditions of countries. Singapore, for example, occupies a key position as a seaport, while the wealth of Saudi Arabia depends almost entirely on oil. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Port. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ...


In today's world location, distribution and character of economic activities is much influenced by globalisation. States and their borders play less significant role as many countries tend to eliminate the effects of borders and deepen the mutual cooperation on the global scale. Border regions that are often economically marginal and underdeveloped are also better cooperating with each other. The best example is the creation of European Union. Significant characteristics is also the occurrence of large business clusters that are forming around the world. Globalization is a term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that are the result of dramatically increased trade and cultural exchange. ... It has been suggested that Cluster effect be merged into this article or section. ...


Approaches to study

  • Theoretical economic geography focuses on building theories about spatial arrangement and distribution of economic activities.
  • Historical economic geography examines history and the development of spatial economic structure.
  • Regional economic geography examines the economic conditions of particular regions or countries of the world. It deals with economic regionalisation as well.
  • Critical economic geography is approach from the point of view of contemporary critical geography and its philosophy.
    • Behavioral economic geography examines the cognitive processes underlying spatial reasoning, locational decision making, and behavior of firms[1] and individuals.

Historical Geography is the study of the: Human Physical Fictional Theoretical and Real geographies of the past. ... Physical map of the Earth (Medium) (Large 2 MB) Geography is the scientific study of the locational and spatial variation in both physical and human phenomena on Earth. ... politics (or low politics), regionalisation is a process of dividing a political entity — typically a country — into smaller regions, and transferring power from the central government to the regions. ... The critical geography is one of the four major turning points in the history of geography (the other three being environmental determinism, regional geography and quantitative revolution). ... The critical geography is one of the four major turning points in the history of geography (the other three being environmental determinism, regional geography and quantitative revolution). ... Behavioral geography is an approach to Human Geography that examines human behavior using a disaggregate approach. ...

Subdivision

Thematically economic geography can be divided into these subdisciplines:

  • Geography of agriculture
  • Geography of industry
  • Internet Geography
  • Geography of services
  • Geography of transportation
  • and others

However, their areas of study may overlap with another geographical sciences or may be considered on their own. Geography (from the Greek words Geo (γη) or Gaea (γαια), both meaning Earth, and graphein (γραφειν) meaning to describe or to writeor to map) is the study of the earth and its features, inhabitants, and phenomena. ...


History of economic geography

In the history of economic geography there were many influences coming mainly from economics and geographical sciences. Face-to-face trading interactions on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. ... Geography (from the Greek words Geo (γη) or Gaea (γαια), both meaning Earth, and graphein (γραφειν) meaning to describe or to writeor to map) is the study of the earth and its features, inhabitants, and phenomena. ...


First traces of the study of spatial aspects of economic activities on Earth can be found in Strabo's Geographika written almost 2000 years ago. The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ...


During the period known in geography as environmental determinism notable (though later much criticized) influence came from Ellsworth Huntington and his theory of climatic determinism. Environmental determinism, also known as climatic determinism, is the view that the physical environment, rather than social conditions, determines culture. ... Ellsworth Huntington was a professor of economics at Yale University, early 20th century, known for his studies on climatic determinism, economic growth and economic geography. ... Climatic Determinism or Environmental determinism is an aspect of economic geography. ...


Valuable contributions came from location theorists such as Johann Heinrich von Thünen or Alfred Weber. Other influential theories were Walter Christaller's Central place theory, the theory of core and periphery. Johann Heinrich von Thünen (24 June 1783 - 22 September 1850) ranks alongside Marx as the greatest economist of the nineteeth century (Fernand Braudel). ... Alfred Weber (July 30, 1868 in Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany - May 2, 1958 in Heidelberg) was a German economist, sociologist and theoretician of culture whose work was influential in the development of modern economic geography. ... Walter Christaller (born 1893; died 1969), was a German geographer whose principal contribution to the discipline is Central Place Theory, first published in 1933. ... Central Place Theory is a geographical theory that seeks to explain the size and spacing of human settlements. ...


Big impact on economic geography had the Fred K. Schaefer's article Exceptionalism in geography: A Methodological Examination published in American journal Annals (Association of American Geographers) and his critique of regionalism. The article became a rallying point for the younger generation of economic geographers who were intent on reinventing the discipline as a science. Quantitative methods became prevailing in research. Well-known economic geographers of this period are William Garrison, Brian Berry, Waldo Tobler, Peter Haggett, William Bunge and others. Fred K. Schaefer (Berlin, 7 July 1904 - USA, 6 June 1953) was a geographer. ... Regionalism is a term in international relations that refers to the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose combined with the creation and implementation of institutions that express a particular identity and shape collective action within a geographical region. ... William Lewis Garrison (born 1924) is an American geographer and transportation analyst, currently a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. ... Brian J . ... Waldo Tobler receiving a plaque for his contributions to geography. ... Microscopic biography of William Wheeler Bunge Jr. ...


Contemporary economic geographers tend to specialize in areas such as location theory and spatial analysis (with the help of geographic information systems), market research, geography of transportation, land or real estate price evaluation, regional and global development, planning, Internet geography, and others. Location Theory is a sub-discipline of economics and geography that seeks to explain the spatial distribution of economic activity. ... In statistics, spatial analysis or spatial statistics includes any of the formal techniques used in various fields of research which study entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties. ... A geographic information system (GIS) is a system for managing data that has a spatial specialized form of an information system. ...


References

  1. ^ Schoenberger, E. (2001): Corporate autobiographies: the narrative strategies of corporate strategists. Journal of Economic Geography 1, 277-98.

Further reading

  • Lloyd, P. E. - Dicken, P. (1977): Location in space - A Theoretical Approach to Economic Geography, Second Edition. Harper & Row Ltd, London.
  • Massey, D. (1984): Spatial Divisions of Labour, Social Structures and the Structure of Production, MacMillan, London.
  • Lee, R. - Wills, J. (1997): Geographies of Economies, Arnold, London.
  • Dicken, P. (2003): Global Shift: Reshaping the Global Economic Map in the 21st Century, Fourth Edition. The Guilford Press.

Doreen Massey FRSA FBA (b. ...

Scientific Journals

Economic Geography - founded and published quarterly at Clark University since 1925
Journal of Economic Geography - published by Oxford University Press since 2001
Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsgeographie - The German Journal of Economic Geography published since 1956.
Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie (TESG) - Published by The Royal Dutch Geographical Society (KNAG) since 1948. Clark University, in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States, is a private teaching and research institution founded in 1887 by the industrialist Jonas Clark. ...


See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
Economic geography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (668 words)
Economic geography is the study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of economic activities across the Earth.
Economic geography research focuses on the study of spatial aspects of economic activities on various scales.
In the history of economic geography there were many influences coming mainly from economics and geographical sciences.
Encyclopedia4U - Economic geography - Encyclopedia Article (238 words)
Economic geography is the study of the widely varying economic conditions across the earth.
This aspect of economics was intensely studied by Ellsworth Huntington, a professor of economics at Yale University in the early 20th century.
These aspects of economics were noted by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations and have also been studied by modern economists like David Landes at Harvard University.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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