Progress in Economic Geography最新文献

Planetary boundaries set the limits within which human societies can operate and thrive. Given that planetary boundaries are severely being exceeded at the moment due to anthropogenic activities, while human development is fundamentally dependent on the state of the environment, we argue that the research agenda within economic geography needs to be reconsidered with this in mind. In light of this, we offer several constructive ways forward for economic geography.

This paper investigates different enterprise types as potential agents of transformative change in the wood-processing industry. To do so, it combines the concept of transformative enterprise with recent accounts of agency in evolutionary economic geography. We examine small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the wood-processing industry because by using a renewable resource that stores CO₂ and has the potential to replace polluting materials, they could become frontrunners in sustainability transformations through a wood-based bioeconomy. Empirically, we draw on a qualitative case study with 24 wood-processing SMEs in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. Based on the concept of transformative enterprise, we identify five enterprise types: silent ecologists, social pioneers, visionary nonconformists, ambitious entrepreneurs, and pragmatist traditionalists. The first four types show many characteristics indicating transformative firm-level agency while only the ambitious entrepreneurs seem capable of inducing changes at the system-level. This is due to several limits of change agency, which we also illuminate. Overall, our study sheds light on the heterogeneity of firms as change agents in the context of sustainability transformation.

It is often assumed that crises are important catalysts for structural change. In this vein, ‘build back better’ programs are sought to tackle acute crisis and, at the same time, catalyze paths towards less carbon-intense production and consumption. However, little is known about how crises affect ongoing decarbonization efforts in different industry sectors and how this might differ in a variety of regional contexts. The building sector has been identified as one of the largest global contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption. That is why a faster uptake of low-carbon building materials such as green cement and wood is a key goal. Based on a qualitative content analysis, which includes expert interviews, this paper traces the uptake of low carbon products in the building materials industry in the Lower Austrian region. To better understand the regional decarbonization pathway and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, this paper explores key events, processes and related stakeholders that may accelerate or decelerate the dynamics of regional decarbonization pathways. The analysis shows that the industry’s decarbonization efforts have continued, but no significant catalysing effects from the crisis could be identified.

Research on the geography of innovation (GeoInno) has become a well-established scientific field, including heterogeneous but complementary theoretical approaches. We reflect upon its evolution in light of an emerging “normative” turn in innovation and regional policy, which is challenging established approaches and providing opportunities for developing new ones. In this discussion paper, we explore how an imminent normative turn impacts three foundational notions of the field: innovation, institutions, and well-being, and then outline three research avenues that would allow GeoInno research to address them in a broadened and policy-relevant manner.

This paper develops a multilayer statistical model to examine geographical patterns of different types of interregional flows within the European Union (EU). The results first reveal the success story of the EU regarding the goal of territorial cohesion in the flow of people. Next, they capture a differential level of each type of interregional flows contribution to the overall market, where flows of capital prevail and knowledge flows lag. The analysis also reveals a diversified degree of cohesion in the interregional flows market describing Germany, the United Kingdom, the “blue banana” regions, the Central and West Europe’s coastal regions, and the East Europe’s regions. Although the EU’s path to regional development looks in the right direction, there is evidence that “borders still matter”, equipping economic geographers and policymakers with an instrumented approach for modeling and evaluating the integration of spatial economies.