World Economic Geography

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World Economic Geography

• Instructor Dr. Truong Thi Kim Chuyen
• Email worldeconomicgeography_at_gmail.com
• Weblog www.socialscience09.wordpress.com

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Course Outline
The geography of the world economy Economic Geography
Conceptual foundations 01/ Conceptual foundations Page 1-25
Dynamics of economic space 02/ The changing world economy 04/ Patterns of Development and Change 05/ Services going global 03/ Commodity chains Page 87-115 04/ Technology and agglomeration
Actors in economic space 10/ International and supranational institutionalized integration Page - 06/ The state Page 187-219 07/ The transnational corporation Page 223-251 08/ Labour power Page 254-281 09/ Consumption
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01/ Conceptual foundations

• Aims
• To understand the assumptions used by economists
  in understanding the economy.
• To recognize the limitations of economic
  approaches to the economy
• To appreciate key concepts in economic geography

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KEY WORDS

• SPACE
• PLACE
• SCALE
• LOCATION
• DISTANCE
• SIZE
• SHAPE

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Concept of Geography

• The studies of the phenomena, processes and
  patterns of natural environment and the spatial
  organization of human life as a whole.

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3 Fundamental Questions

• Where? Where did/are the phenomenon, processes,
  patterns happened/happening?
• Why there? Why did/are they happened/happening
  there? (not at a different/other place?)
• How? How are they in the relationships to those
  at other places, and affect or are affected by
  human life and natural environment?
• ? spatial/geographical thinking

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Space

• Territoriality and form
• Location within space
• Flows across space
• Unevenness of wealth and development across space

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Location

1. Absolute Location
2. Relative Location

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1. Absolute Location

• being unique to each described place
• measuring the distance separating places
• finding directions between places on the earths
  surface.
• One of systems (also called mathematic location)
  a positioning system of precise and accepted
  identification of a place accurately described by
  reference to its degrees, minutes and seconds of
  latitude and longitude.
• Ex Vietnam is located at, latitude 8010 to
  23024 N
• longitude1020 O9 to 109030 E

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• Other precise and accepted system survey system
  on regional level.
• Depends any other characteristics, it has
• Legal description of place,
• Measuring the distance separating places,
• Finding directions between places on the earths
  surface.
• Ex
• Vietnam University the 6th site, Linh Trung
  ward, Thu Duc district, HCMC
• HCMC International University
• University of Oxford University Offices,
  Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD UK
• Stanford University 630 Serra Street, Suite 120,
  Stanford, CA 94305-6032 723-4291 USA

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2. Relative Location

• the position of a place in relation to that of
  other places or activities
• It explains spatial interconnection and
  interdependence
• Ex location of library, cafeteria to your
  classroom
• In other sense, it tells us that people, things,
  and places exist in the world of physical and
  cultural characteristics that differ from place
  to place
• Ex Vietnam is located in the southeastern
  extremity of the Indochinese Peninsula, nearby
  the maritime cross-road of the world

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Place

• Specificity
• uniqueness of places
• specific context
• Different scale
• internal characteristics of a place
• Ex specific places within Niger

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Distance

• Absolute distance
• refers to the spatial separation between two
  points on the earths surface
• measured by standard unit miles or kilometers,
  feet or meters (for more closely spaced points).
• Relative distance
• Transforms measurements into other units, more
  meaningful for the space relationship at
  question.
• Miles, kilometers, meters ? hours, minutes,
  monetary system, or psychological transformation
  (unfamiliar, dangerous/familiar, friendly etc.)
  

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Interaction among places

• Spatial interaction places interact with other
  in the comprehensive ways.
• Their processes and patterns are described by
  words accessibility and connectivity
• Accessibility
• Connectivity

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Accessibility refers to location

• Consideration of distance implies assessment of
  accessibility.
• Question How easy or difficult is it to
  surmount/overcome the barrier of the time and
  space separation of places?
• Internal place transport network
• External place airplane, ship, train, etc.

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Connectivity refers to distance

• A broader concept of accessibility implying all
  tangible and intangible ways in which places are
  connected
• Tangible telephone lines, street and road
  systems, pipelines and sewers, etc.
• Intangible radio and TV broadcasts,
  telecommunications, etc.

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Scale

• Size and shape
• Global
• Nation
• Sub-Nation
• Local

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SIZE
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2.500.000 km2
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350.000-2.500.000 km2
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150.000 -gt 350.000 km2
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25.000 -150.000 km2
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lt 25.000 km2
NAURU
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SHAPE

• Compact
• Elongated
• Proprute-Protruded
• Fragmented
• Perforated
• Land-locked
• Exclave 

Each shape of state has advantages, as well as
disadvantages
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Compact

• A compact shaped state is small and centralized.
  This type of state is the simplest to manage,
  since the government is close to all portions of
  the state. The compact form helps to keep the
  country together by making communications easier
  within it. In addition, compact states are much
  easier to defend than states of other shapes.
  However, compact states are primarily small in
  size, and therefore may not have as many natural
  resources as larger states have. A perfect
  example of a compact state would be Poland.

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Elongated
An elongated shaped state is long and narrow.
This type of state also has many disadvantages.
For example, they are difficult to defend. An
elongated state, such as Chile, makes for
difficult governance of the peripheral areas in
the north and south. However, an elongated state
encompasses a variety of landscapes.
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Proprute-Protruded
 A prorupted state has a long extension, or an
extended arm of territory. This protrusion gives
the state several advantages. For example, the
state gets easy access to the coast and the local
resources around it. In addition, prorupted
states are also able to prevent a rival access.
An example of a prorupted state would be Thailand.
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Fragmented
 A state that is separated by a physical or human
barrier. This creates several problems for the
country. Many portions of the state are separated
by oceans, lakes, and mountains. It is difficult
to govern such a country composed of islands,
such as Indonesia. In addition, communication is
difficult within the state since portions are
separated form the main part of the country.
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Perforated
A perforated state completely surrounds another.
A classic example would be South Africa since it
surrounds Lesotho. The surrounded nation can only
be reached by going through one country. More
problems can arise if there is hostility between
the two nations. This makes it difficult to enter
the surrounding nation.
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Land-locked
Approximately one-fifth of the world's countries
are landlocked and have no access to the oceans.
There are 43 landlocked countries that do not
have direct access to an ocean or
ocean-accessible sea (such as the Mediterranean
Sea). They have the disadvantageous situation of
needing to rely upon neighboring countries for
access to seaports.
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For example, Ethiopia relies on Eritrea for
access to the Red Sea and recent conflicts have
made that access difficult.
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Doubly-Landlocked Countries

• There are two special landlocked countries that
  are known as doubly-landlocked countries,
  completely surrounded by other landlocked
  countries.

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Exclave 
a territory legally or politically attached to a
territory with which it is not physically
contiguous
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Enclave

• A country or part of a country that is surrounded
  by another. However, an enclave does not have
  political affinity to the surrounding state.
  Also, an enclave does not belong to another
  country. For example, the Vatican City is an
  enclave of Rome. The Vatican City has its own
  government and is independent from Rome and
  Italy. Therefore, it is not bound by the rules of
  Rome, as well as the rules of Italy.

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THEORY

• Location theory and the neoclassical approach
• Alfred Webers industrial location theory
• August Lösch
• Behavioural approach
• By adopting Herbert Simons idea
• of bounded rationality, behavioural economic
  geographers examined the role of cognitive
  information
• and human choices in determining decision-making
  and locational outcomes

• Marxistpolitical economy
• To address adequately the social and spatial
  inequities in economic development and wealth t
• During the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the
  political economy approach manifested itself in
  the post-Fordism debate.

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THEORY

• Since the mid-1990s, new economic geography has
  moved away from viewing economic processes as
  separate from social, cultural and political
  contexts. Instead, social, cultural, and
  institutional factors tend now to be seen as key
  factors in understanding economic dynamics.
  Unlike previous genres, the new economic
  geography is not represented by a particular
  theoretical perspective or methodological
  practice. Rather, it is characterized by an
  eclectic collection of philosophical standpoints
  and social theories ranging from
  poststructuralism and postmodernism to
  institutionalism and feminism.