The geographical dimension of structural change

Ron Boschma ()

No 1839, Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) from Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography

Abstract: This chapter explores patterns of structural change from a geographical perspective. It summarizes recent insights on the geography of structural change, and in particular on regional diversification. It shows how local capabilities and institutions impact on structural change, and why the capacity of regions to diversify differs substantially. This chapter describes how concepts like diversification and relatedness have been fruitfully combined in a rapidly expanding literature. Diversification refers to the emergence of new activities, an important feature of structural change. These new activities are often embedded in, or related to, existing activities at the national and regional scale, requiring similar capabilities. But new activities can also be unrelated to existing ones. For our understanding of structural change, the role of agency is considered crucial, as it shapes diversification at the regional level.

Keywords: structural change; product space; regional diversification; related diversification; unrelated diversification; institutions; agency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O18 R0 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-11, Revised 2018-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:egu:wpaper:1839

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