Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
new technologies, connected with the introduction and dissemination of ICT (informa-
tion and communication technology) since the 1950s, will also have its ef ect on spatial
coni gurations in physical space, but it is not yet entirely clear how this will work out in
spatial coni gurations. In section 5 we return to this issue.
The second concept used is that of a
long wave of economic development
, which denotes
the long-term economic development and the changing resource use and the composition
of production (Maddison, 1991; van Duijn, 1983; van Duijn and Lambooy, 1982). An
evolutionary approach seems to be useful to examine the co-evolution, or the integrated
view of the development of the 'triangle' of relations. Nelson (2005, p. 8) contends: 'A
viable economic growth theory must recognize the evolutionary nature of processes of
technological advance, and of the ways the structure of inputs, outputs and institutions
is molded and molds the advance of technology.'
The third concept used is that of a
complex adaptive system
. This concept is based in
an evolutionary approach and is useful to investigate more complex structural changes
(Anderson et al., 1988; Antonelli, 2008; Arthur, 1999; Hayek, 1937 and 1945, cited
in Caldwell, 2004). Metcalfe et al. (2006) use this concept to examine the nature of
economic growth. They contend that capitalism is restless and adaptive. The basis for
growth is the process of 'self-transformation, the emergence of macro-structure from
micro-diversity, and coordination through market processes' (Metcalfe et al., 2006,
p. 7). They also argue that it is the generation and resolution of economic diversity that
is the principal source of growth.
The main concern of this chapter is to explore the interrelations between long-term
economic, technical and spatial development, which are dealt with more specii cally
in sections 4 and 5. However, we i rst pay attention to the approach of evolutionary
economic geography in section 2. Then the following section 3 investigates the interre-
lationship between technology and the development of spatial structures (urbanisation
and interregional economic dif erentiation) in complex adaptive systems. In sections 4
and 5 the relations of technology, economic development and spatial patterns over long
time-horizons are examined with the theories of the long-wave and the development
of phases. In section 5 special attention is given to the inl uence on urban and regional
location patterns of the more recently developed new GPT - information and computer
technology (ICT). This chapter is then i nalised by drawing some conclusions based on
the previous sections.
2. Evolutionary economic geography, spatial structure and time
The evolutionary approach to economic geography (EEG) dif ers in various dimensions
from that of the approaches of the neoclassical mainstream and new economic geogra-
phy (NEG). This chapter will not explore this, because others, such as Martin (1999)
and Boschma and Frenken (2006), have extensively developed that issue. Here the main
focus is the long-term changes in the relations in the 'triangle' of technology, space and
economic development. This interrelation can be investigated by using the viewpoints
of
evolutionary economics
. This theory focuses on the continuous emergence of novelties
and selection processes with unpredictable outcomes (Arthur, 1994, 1999; Boschma and
Lambooy, 1999; Nelson and Winter, 1977). It is a long-term emergent process, caused
by chance and exogenous events but also by endogenous self-reinforcing processes with
an interactive feedback nature, like with the transfer of knowledge between i rms and
