Approaches to Economic Geography Towards a geographical political economy

The last four decades have seen major changes in the global economy, with the collapse of communism and the spread of capitalism into parts of the world from which it had previously been excluded. Beginning with a grounding in Marxian political economy, this book explores a range of new ideas as to what economic geography can offer as it intersects with public policy and planning in the new globalised economy. Approaches to Economic Geography draws together the formidable work of Ray Hudson into an authoritative collection, offering a unique approach to the understanding of the changing geographies of the global economy. With chapters covering subjects ranging from uneven development to social economy, this volume explores how a range of perspectives, including evolutionary and institutional approaches, can further elucidate how such economies and their geographies are reproduced. Subsequent chapters argue that greater attention must be given to the relationships between the economy and nature, and that more consideration needs to be given to the growing significance of illegal activities in the economy. The book will be of interest to students studying economic geography as well as researchers and policy makers that recognise the importance of the relationships between economy and geography as we move towards a sustainable future economy and society.

Table of contents List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgements Preface Chapter 1 Setting the Scene: Steps towards a Geographical Political Economy Chapter 2 Conceptualising Economies and Their Geographies: Spaces, Flows and Circuits Chapter 3 "The learning economy, the learning firm and the learning region": a sympathetic critique of the limits to learning Chapter 4 From knowledge-based economy to … knowledge-based economy? Reflections on changes in the economy and development policies in the north east of England Chapter 5 Re-thinking change in old industrial regions: reflecting on the experiences of north east England Chapter 6 Global production systems and European integration: de-regionalising, re-regionalising and re-scaling production systems in Europe Chapter 7 Life on the edge: navigating the competitive tensions between the "social" and the "economic" in the social economy and in its relations to the mainstream Chapter 8 Thinking through the relationships between legal and illegal activities and economies: spaces, flows and pathways Chapter 9 Cultural Political Economy Meets Global Production Networks: A Productive Meeting? Chapter 10 Critical political economy and materials transformation Chapter 11 Resilient regions in an uncertain world: Wishful thinking or a practical reality? Chapter 12 The future of economic geography and economic geographies of the future References

Ray Hudson is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy for the Social Sciences, the Regional Studies Association and the Royal Geographical Society and is a Member of Academia Europaea. He is also a long-standing Professor of Geography at Durham University, UK.