Chapter 1. The French School of Proximity: genesis and evolution of a school of thought

Jean-Benoît Zimmermann (), Andre Torre and Michel Grossetti ()
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Jean-Benoît Zimmermann: AMSE - Aix-Marseille Sciences Economiques - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Michel Grossetti: LISST - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Solidarités, Sociétés, Territoires - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - ENSFEA - École Nationale Supérieure de Formation de l'Enseignement Agricole de Toulouse-Auzeville - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INP - PURPAN - Ecole d'Ingénieurs de Purpan - Toulouse INP - Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) - UT - Université de Toulouse

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Abstract: In this chapter, we revisit the origins and genesis of the french school of proximity and its evolution trough time, in order to better understand how and why the small group of researchers who were the driving force of this new way of thinking were quickly able to get a real legitimacy and effective recognition. First of all, it was clear that the role of space in economic dynamics was too often the subject of confusion and abusive assertions. Asking this question in terms of coordination made it possible to consider non-spatial factors in the analysis. The notion of proximity as a polysemic concept therefore opened the way to understanding how space matters or not, together with these other factors thus a renewed approach of questions related to space and territories. But, even starting from issues of economic nature, such an approach could not remain limited to its economic dimension, the questions of coordination involving social individuals, located in geographical space but also embedded in bundles of relationships and in institutions. Thus, it had to broaden very quickly to other disciplines in social sciences which largely contributed to consolidate the bases of what became a multidisciplinary approach and to develop theoretical as well as empirical tools.

Keywords: proximity; space; geography; coordination; embeddedness; territory; social science; multidisciplinary approach (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-01
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Published in Torre A.; Galaud D. Handbook of Proximity Relations, Edgar Elgar, pp.49-69, 2022, 978 1 78643 477 7. ⟨10.4337/9781786434784.00009⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03166106

DOI: 10.4337/9781786434784.00009

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