读书会 03期 | Economy: Critical Essays in Human Geography 总结①

Scott (2004) makes a series of critical thinking to debate between two perspectives of economic geography: Geographical economics versus the cultural turn in human geography. First of all, Scott (2004) agrees with the idea that theoretical knowledge is constructed based on local contexts for explaining practical issues, but not for 'philosophical idealism'. For one thing, the author argues that geographical economics, especially Krugman's core model, ignores how urban agglomeration unfolds in local neighbourhoods but mainly at the regional level (e.g "... in historical, social and cultural settings." (pp. 485)). This core model with much unrealistic assumptions neglects socio-economic dynamics within regions, for instance, labour unionisation, collaborations among companies, the emergence and evolution of social networks, local processes of learning and innovation, local governance structures and so on. For another, the cultural turn encounters a philosophical lock-in that self-referenced knowledge is constructed to support their own ontology/philosophy but omits the point that individual agency cannot create the entire world as they wish. We, individuals may not see 'underlying structural conditions' (pp. 494). Supporting the equality of all potential theoretical explanations, the cultural turn tries to culturally theorise all social relations and even clarify the nature of capitalist accumulation in a cultural way.

Different research aims may be relevant to the politics of theorizing as mentioned by Scott (2004, pp. 480) that "Whose interests do they ultimately serve, and in what ways?". At the end, Scott (2004) appeal for a re-synthesis of these two perspectives in a revised cognitive map by proposing eight bullet points including 're-description of capitalism; an un-reducible and intertwined field between contemporary capitalism and socio-cultural characteristics; local milieus where the local economy, society and culture interact; rescaling institutional frameworks; local contexts; path dependence; locational specialisation and differentiation; a modest level of quantitative analysis' (pp. 492-494).

Krugman cites the formation of the European Union (EU) as an example to support his theoretical viewpoint, suggesting that the expansion and integration of the European market would enable already developed regions to further specialise. In this way, developed regions accrue more benefits based on increasing returns to scale, which potentially leads to greater disparities among EU regions. However, due to the relatively slower labour and factor mobility within the EU compared to the United States, such regional imbalances may emerge more slowly in Europe than in the US. So, what measures can be taken to address regional development disparities? Early approaches advocated for EU transfer payments to support underdeveloped regions, particularly through basic services, which contributed to regional stability.

Nevertheless, these measures do not address the fundamental issues of regional imbalances, and in the event of international demand shocks, highly specialised developed regions could also face sudden growth constraints. The author further explores whether the EU could implement a federal fiscal policy at a regional level, similar to that of the United States, but this approach seems to be at odds with the national fiscal sovereignty of EU member states, making it challenging to pursue (though I am not entirely certain about this). Subsequently, the author, drawing on Krugman's reflections, examines the potential application of regional industrial policies inspired by 'new industrial geography': on the one hand, promoting flexible specialisation in industries within developed regions, while on the other, mitigating regional disparities. How might local and regional policies enable the integrated EU market to achieve comprehensive and balanced economic development through mechanisms such as agglomeration economies, external economies, and technological spillovers? This remains an area worthy of further investigation.

This article by Amin (1999) offers an institutionalist perspective on regional economic development. The author critiques the traditional, top-down, firm-centered approaches of Keynesian and neoliberal policies, which focus on state incentives or market deregulation to stimulate regional development. Both have been inadequate in fostering long-term growth in less-favored regions (LFRs), as they overlook local interdependencies and endogenous potential. In contrast, Amin (1999) advocates for a new, bottom-up, region-specific approach that draws from institutional economics and socio-economics. The institutional turn emphasizes that the success of regional development does not solely depend on simple spatial clustering but is also deeply influenced by the local social, cultural, and institutional context. This institutional and social connectedness provides deeper support for regional competitiveness. This perspective emphasises the importance of local networks, collective action, and institutional frameworks in shaping economic success. The article argues that sustainable regional development must focus on fostering local economic interdependencies, upgrading local supply chains, and building regional social and institutional capacities. The role of informal networks, tacit knowledge, and relational assets is central to achieving economic competitiveness.

The article concludes by emphasizing the need for regional policy to build on local capabilities, promote learning and adaptability, and secure macro-economic support. Without such efforts, regional development policies risk reinforcing economic dependency or stagnation in LFRs.

This week I read Bathelt and Glückler (2003). In this paper they proposed a novel analytical framework of relational economic geography (REG). First, they criticised the regional science in the 1960s and 1970s which treated space as a separate container or entity who act in isolation from economic and social relations. Then, they proposed five dimensions of a relational framework and pointed out the three core foundations of REG: contextuality, path-dependence, and contingency. Lastly, they developed four ions of REG based on Storper’s conceptualization of the holy trinity.

A: This research explores the evolving conceptualizations of economies and their geographies, emphasizing the interplay between political economy and cultural economy. The author critiques traditional political-economic approaches for their deterministic views and highlights the need for more nuanced understandings that incorporate cultural dimensions. The text discusses the unresolved debate on the relationship between culture and economy, suggesting that political and cultural economy perspectives should be seen as complementary rather than competitive. The focus is on developing sophisticated conceptualizations of capitalist economies, considering the complex social relations, practices, and structures that define them. The document outlines six guiding principles, emphasizing the need for theoretical variety to account for diverse economic practices. It argues for a nuanced understanding of the relationship between production and consumption and the necessity of integrating political-economic and cultural-economic perspectives to grasp the complexity of capitalist economies. The text also addresses the heterogeneity of heterodox economics, advocating for a combined approach that includes Marxian, institutional, and evolutionary perspectives to understand the economy's complexity. It highlights the tension between processes that destabilize and those that reproduce capitalist structures, noting the role of commodification in capitalist production. The document concludes by discussing the conceptualization of economic practices and spaces, emphasizing the need to view spaces relationally and economic processes as complex systems with multiple linkages and feedback loops.

B: This article explores the connections between political-economic and cultural-economic approaches, arguing that they are complementary rather than seperate. Building on this premise, the author analyzes the relationships between structures, practices, and agents, as well as the interactions between people and objects. The author first proposes six axioms, which encompass perspectives on varying temporalities and spatialities, production and consumption, the flows of knowledge (people), institutions, structural relations, and the reproduction of the economy within different regulatory and governance frameworks.

In the second part, the author insists that production/economic and consumption/cultural are not simply equivalent. Labour also brings its products back into the sphere of humanity, highlighting how political perspective exemplifies the "pleasure-seeking" tendencies of the affluent minority while marginalizing the impoverished majority and perpetuating social exclusion. Both production and consumption are integral to the totality of the economic process.

The author introduces cultural-economic and political-economic approaches to deepen our understanding of the economy. By investigating the symbolic value and cultural influences that shape the definition and construction of products and markets, the author supports the notion that culture serves as a bottom-up method of analysis, complementing the more top-down perspectives of political economy. As for political economy, the author critiques Marxian political economy for overlooking the complexities and social dimensions that shape economic realities. Through the lenses of labor processes, material transformation, and value creation, the author emphasizes the dynamic and socially constructed nature of the economy, including non-capitalist elements. Markets can be viewed as a central concept that integrates both political-economy and cultural-economy approaches. Additionally, the author highlights the importance of recognizing that spaces are both material and discursive in understanding how culture intersects with the economy.

C: This paper focuses on how to best conceptualise and theorise 'the economy' (and their geographies) through analyzing more subtle and nuanced conceptualisations of economies. Six axioms as basis to understand the economy include: 1) abstract concept, 2) economy is not fragmented such as production and consumption, 3) meaningful and intentional human actions, 4) the economy is socially constructed, embedded and instituted. 5) human behaviours are both institutionalised and enabled and constrained, 6) politically and socially (re)produced via regulatory and governance institutions

Cultural economy: The author doesn't agree to conflate changes in intellectual fashion and perspective with alleged changes in the economy. Political economy: People develop multiple understandings of capitalist economies and their implications, depending upon their own variable positionality. The ‘economy’ is instituted, based on shared understandings, discursively established, regarding ‘proper’ behaviours and conducted by the owners and managers of capital and the vast variety of workers. (The economy of capitalisms and the social relations of capital that define and dominate them).

The article discusses the evolution of economic geography, particularly focusing on the distinctions and intersections between neoclassical, institutional, and evolutionary approaches. It highlights the shift in economic geography since the 1980s, moving from traditional economic analysis to a more interdisciplinary approach that incorporates insights from social and cultural sciences. The authors argue that while neoclassical economics has re-entered the field of geography, evolutionary economics remains underexplored despite its potential contributions. The paper outlines three key issues that differentiate these approaches: methodology (formal modeling vs. qualitative analysis), assumptions about economic behavior (utility maximization vs. bounded rationality), and the conceptualization of time (static vs. dynamic analysis). Evolutionary Economic Geography is proposed as a unique paradigm that integrates elements from both neoclassical and institutional theories while emphasizing the importance of organizational routines and historical context in understanding economic behavior. The authors advocate for a comprehensive framework that recognises the dynamic interplay between firms, sectors, and institutions, suggesting that the spatial evolution of industries and networks is a co-evolutionary process. They conclude that Evolutionary Economic Geography offers valuable insights into regional development and the mechanisms driving economic change, although it is still in its early stages of development.