Complexity and Geographical Economics

The uneven geographical distribution of economic activities is a huge challenge worldwide and also for the European Union. In Krugman's New Economic Geography economic systems have a simple spatial structure. This book shows that more sophisticated models should visualise the EU as an evolving trade network with a specific topology and different aggregation levels. At the highest level, economic geography models give a bird eye's view of spatial dynamics. At a medium level, institutions shape the economy and the structure of (financial and labour) markets. At the lowest level, individual decisions interact with the economic, social and institutional environment; the focus is on firms' decision on location and innovation. Such multilevel models exhibit complex dynamic patterns path dependence, cumulative causation, hysteresis on a network structure; and specific analytic tools are necessary for studying strategic interaction, heterogeneity and nonlinearities.

Reviews the state of the art in several fields of geographical economics and spatial economic analysis Presents the interdisciplinary work of an EU funded research network with a special focus on combining different approaches to complex systems analysis in geographical economics Shows how to apply specific tools of analysis (such as agent based modelling, network analysis, game theory, and econometrics) to geographical spatial economic analysis

Inhalt
Introduction.- Part A. Economic Geography Modelling.- Part B. Institutions and Markets.- Part C. Industrial Interactions.