This paper provides a short introduction to the papers in this special issue on Rethinking economies/economic geographies. It focuses on the diversity within and between Economics and Economic Geography in their performative relationships with economies and economic geographies. Questions of power/knowledge and cross-disciplinarity are raised. Five hoped-for consequences of the debate are

This paper offers an organizational perspective on the firm in new economic geographies. It starts with the premise of the firm as a production function in neoclassical economics and a cost minimisation device in transaction cost economics. By pointing out the inadequacy in these mainstream economic perspectives on the firm, I draw upon recent behavioral and managerial theories to develop a rel...

The main item of agreement between the ‘new’ and ‘old’ economic geography is the role of increasing returns in regional economic development. This provides a focal point for the model of this paper, which aims to highlight the existence of a ‘third way’ somewhere between the analysis provided by these two competing modes of explanation. Increasing returns are represented by the Verdoorn Law lin...

The recent surge of interest in the role of economic geography in economic development has divided into two seemingly contradictory approaches. One approach emphasizes the role of inherent features of the landscape in shaping development patterns. This paper, however, mainly surveys the alternative approach, which stresses how the tension between “centripetal” forces, such as forward and backwa...

A substantial part of the economic growth literature suggests that historically, geographic features such as decreasing trade costs have improved not only output but also growth. However, this literature lacks an analytical motivation for lower trade barriers, and assumes their decrease to obtain exogenously and at no cost. This paper attempts to address the issue by investigating how endogenou...

Economic geography in an era of global competition poses a paradox. In theory, location should no longer be a source of competitive advantage. Open global markets, rapid transportation, and high-speed communications should allow any company to source any thing from any place at any time. But in practice, Michael Porter demonstrates, location remains central to competition. Today's economic map ...