The UK, like other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies, has experienced a dismal decade and a half since the financial crisis. The reason lies in the dual technological transition, energy and digital, which is prompting structural shifts in the economy that require a co-ordinated policy response. This implies the need for more co-ordinated policies and more active

The rapid evolution of digital technologies over the past decades has induced profound economic and social transformations. Economic geography faces the ongoing challenge of assimilating these changes into existing theories that elucidate the dynamics of the global economy. In response, we present the Global Digital Networks (GDN) framework, drawing inspiration from established analytical instruments

Large cities are a key driver of technological innovation and economic growth. This paper investigates the developments of Italian metropolitan areas, building on insights from economic geography and innovation studies. The key questions to be investigated are the following: (i) Which trajectories of population and economic change can be identified for Italian metropolitan areas? Are we facing a process

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused economic crises and increased inter-regional economic disparities. However, the catalyst effect that the pandemic has had on digitalization may change the traditional pattern of internal migration, in favour of rural areas. Using time-sensitive register data we explain changes in net migration rates of German districts from an economic geography perspective. We show

This article explores how firm interconnectedness determines firm-level resilience. We argue that firms that engage in outward foreign direct investment are more interconnected, and therefore better equipped to deal with structural and economic shocks, than firms that are not engaged in outward foreign investment. Interconnectedness is measured along two dimensions; cross-border firm linkages and embeddedness

Flows of construction minerals in the Oslo region are studied in a multi-scalar perspective. Urban densification and construction of infrastructure result in large volumes of gravel and stone which according to law is waste. Waste is landfilled in the hinterland putting pressure on socio-ecological qualities. Lack of regional planning promoting circularity implies municipalities in the hinterland have

Creating a circular economy (CE) is considered central to solving problems like climate change and resource depletion. In this context, the concept of global destruction networks was developed to better theorise using waste in new production. However, CE advocates also seek to avoid waste production by extending products’ lives. These efforts occur within what we term waste reduction networks. Examining

Promoting the circular economy (CE) increasingly draws on regional approaches. But in particular the potentially supportive role of regionally provided innovations requires more exploration. This paper suggests an expanded categorization of innovation demands for the regional CE and integrates them into an enriched conceptualization of the challenge-oriented regional innovation system (CORIS). How

This article conceptualises the circular economy as a space of immaterial, as well as material, metabolic flows mediated by capitalism and planetary urbanisation. World-ecology provides us with the critical lens to view the circular economy as part of an emergent regime of accumulation that may supersede neoliberalism. However, if each regime entails new frontier zones for appropriating cheap natures

In the context of the increasingly present policies of circular economy and the emergence of “Circular Bioeconomy” (CB), this article presents the results of a literature review on the sociometabolic research of biomasses. Six schools of thought are identified and distinguished according to their authors, their conceptions of metabolism, methodologies and social and spatial dimensions. Based on this

Recycled plastics value chains are being collaboratively constructed amid calls for greater responsibility of the corporates driving today’s plastic waste crisis. The resulting ‘responsibility fix’ bolts new arrangements onto linear production processes, offering a mechanism to push linear processes towards circularity, while starting to patch up some of the social and economic injustices associated

In this paper we mobilize sustainability transitions literature to explore directionality for circular economy (CE) transitions, by drawing on and adapting a framework for analysing roadmaps to empirically investigate CE strategies. Specifically, this paper explores circular economy CE strategy documents in the Nordics, the commonalities and differences between them and to what extent they provide

This paper explores how 15 Canadian local governments of various sizes and contexts are transitioning to a circular economy by analysing their roadmap currently in development. It provides qualitative insights into how physical, socioeconomic and institutional factors are influencing the content of roadmaps, along with their similarities and differences. Drawing from the literature on the geography

In the article, we critically confront the idea of waste-to-resource at the heart of the circular economy. We discuss some of the blind spots and shortcomings of three circular economy principles: designing out waste, emulating natural systems and decoupling economic growth from resource use. We suggest that their limitations are intimately connected to a scalar reasoning ruled by strict, disjunctive

This study explores diverse circular economies and methods of multispecies ethnography in Vorselaar, Belgium and Røros, Norway, to identify care-full justice in small-scale places and to challenge traditional anthropocentric and capitalocentric models. This study unearths circular site stories in Vorselaar’s community-driven sustainability practices and Røros’s integration of cultural heritage in its

This comment critiques the idea of geographic regions being “left behind.” It argues that the term frames the regions in question as passive experiencers of natural phenomena, in turn obfuscating the structural forces that have shaped those regions and local populations’ efforts to pursue better living conditions. The comment draws on three examples from the rural United States to illustrate how the

This paper investigates whether, and what kind of, regional knowledge has a stimulating effect on circular economy (CE) innovation by companies. We thus add to the literature on regional knowledge spillovers, which has rarely focussed explicitly on the CE. For the empirical study, we create econometric regressions based on a representative dataset with extensive information on the CE activities of

This article explores the territorialisation of the circular economy (CE) and analyses how the geographical and organised proximities of stakeholders facilitate the mobilisation of local resources for CE projects. It focuses on two local CE initiatives in Quebec (Canada) and France, for which 70 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The results highlight the importance of tangible and intangible

Small businesses within the digital sector are spread across the USA. However, a significant number of promising small businesses concentrate in major technology hubs, either initially or through relocation. This phenomenon can be attributed to the influential role played by localized markets for financing and acquisition, which is, in turn, driven by the dominant market positions held by major digital

Political discontent, frequently mirrored in voting patterns, extends beyond ballot votes. By focusing on Valparaiso, Chile, we introduce a more comprehensive measure, external political efficacy (EPE), capturing a sense of abandonment and gauging public sentiment towards the political system’s responsiveness to their needs. Our analysis addresses individual and area-level factors underpinning individual

This paper examines the role of place in the local development of a circular economy and the potential for consequent social redistribution. Based on a case study of public, private and third-sector approaches to a circular economy in Hull, an industrial city in the northeast of England, it offers a critical analysis of the geographic distribution of socio-economic benefits from local circular economy

In the 21st century, there have already been a series of economic downturns, particularly the Subprime Crisis 2007–2009 and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. All those events triggered changes in productivity, economic performance and structure. The main objective of this study is to identify the regions left behind in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and to analyse the structural and

This article explores the extent to which persistent poverty areas represent a compelling sub-category of left-behind areas. It asks why places collectively tend to have a much harder time climbing out of poverty than people do individually, and it explores three ways in which places struggling with persistent poverty exhibit disconnection from the broader economy: commuting patterns, social networks

This paper aims to link the issue of left-behind places with spatial inequalities and demonstrate how, in these places, different territorial identities have contributed to responding to external shocks. By applying principal component and cluster analyses to a set of Italian mountain municipalities, we identified different typologies of these left-behind places as of the early 1950s and examined how

Despite the growing interest in subjective inequality, little is known about the relation between this and more objective measures of inequality, especially in the light of regional disparities. This study focuses on the patterns of actual income inequality and two subjective measures in NUTS 2 EU regions. By accounting for multiple indicators of economic (under)performance, we show that actual inequality

Many coastal towns in England face a unique set of overlapping challenges: a longstanding socio-economic stagnation and environmental threats coming from the physical location. This paper examines coastal communities in the context of the left-behind debate. The consequences of de-industrialisation and failures in public policies recall other left-behind geographies. We look at a selection of case

We conduct a discrete choice experiment to investigate how the location of a firm in a rural or urban region affects the perceived job attractiveness for university students and graduates and, therewith, contributes to the rural–urban divide. We characterize the attractiveness of a location based on several dimensions (social life, public infrastructure and connectivity) and vary job design and contractual

Unlike development strategies for prosperous regions and their prioritisation of high-tech sectors, alternative strategies for left behind places are suggested that shift to foundational economies, community-based social innovation and well-being. While we support this emphasis, we see a tendency to neglect the role of change agents engaged with research and teaching in high-tech domains for initiating

Left-behind places face linked economic and political problems that must be resolved jointly. This paper examines the potential contribution of basic income programs to that goal. Consisting of regular, no-strings-attached payments to citizens, basic income programs ensure resources and stability for poor and economically precarious households who comprise a significant share of left-behind places’

This paper argues that money and finance are not sufficiently integrated into the research agenda of evolutionary economic geography (EEG). I identify two dimensions of Joseph Schumpeter’s vision of the inherent instability of capitalism as promising for the EEG research agenda: First, the ‘law’ (Gesetz) of a disequilibrating role of credit creation and innovations in financial relations reveals the

Fostering cooperation among local stakeholders is a core aim of place-based policies, and it can generate economic benefits and help restore a sense of agency in left-behind communities. However, relatively little is known about how to induce local cooperation in low-trust, institutionally weak areas. This article develops an integrated theoretical framework to help diagnose the precise obstacles to

Research identifies strong concentrations of economic activity in dynamic, major city regions, whereas shifts in economic linkages between these and smaller, less-advantaged city regions have been less investigated. Using data on firms’ investment/disinvestment decisions between 1993 and 2017, we show that the majority of ‘relational hinterlands’ (smaller, non-contiguous city regions with at least

This article aims to discuss left behind places in Brazil in the early 21st century. We conceptually debate the left behind places’ approach in dialogue with other contemporary theoretical perspectives. To evaluate regional inequalities in Brazil, we used the coefficient of variation, calculated at two different scales from 2002 to 2019 for GDP per capita, also considering social indicators. The results

Recent research has identified a key subset of the business population that comprises firms who had sought external finance but subsequently withdrew from the credit market completely despite still requiring finance. Utilising the UK’s Longitudinal Small Business Survey between 2015 and 2020, we identify the consequences in terms of lost jobs and sales of these small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

The application of infrastructure as a regional development tool in resource peripheries has received little direct inquiry in both policy and scholarly debates. This article synthesizes theoretical and empirical directions across economic geography, regional studies and critical infrastructure studies to form a research agenda for investigating the role of built infrastructure in the development of

We document that children growing up in places left behind by today's economy experience lower levels of social mobility as adults. Using a longitudinal database that tracks over 20,000 places in the USA from 1980 to 2018, we identify two kinds of left behind places: the 'long-term left behind' that have struggled over long periods of history; and 'recently left-behind' places where conditions have

The capability framework in evolutionary economic geography views regional economic development as a process of related diversification through the acquisition of capabilities that render a regional economy more complex. Using this framework, we synthesize seven theoretical notions that hitherto remained rather disconnected: relatedness, complementarity, variety, complexity, diversification, agents

Although evolutionary economic geography has been popular in economic geography, it has also been criticized for, among others, a weak geographical conceptualization, which has become evident, particularly in empirical research on related and unrelated variety. Therefore, this paper advances a spatial ontology, which is embedded in critical realism and social constructivism, and will empower evolutionary

It is a truism that the power of platform companies rests, among other things, on their capacity to engage in surveillance. Their existence depends on the acquisition and analysis of data, which fuels their movement, that is steered by algorithms. Surveillance capitalism, usually instantiated in the activities of platform companies, expanded even more markedly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Platforms

Different strands of literature have provided important insights into the economic effects of high-skilled migration. Evolutionary economic approaches have provided robust evidence and theories to explain how innovation unfolds in regions. However, with few exceptions they have been silent with regard to the role of migration in this process. This paper, while building on the insights of the above

This contribution argues that evolutionary economic geography needs to widen its conceptual apparatus in order to engage with the grand challenges of our times. Instead of understanding evolution as a gradual, path-dependent and geographically localized process, the current challenges result from various global political-economic transformations requiring an understanding of evolution as a outcome

This paper investigates the unequal effect of Airbnb on the spatial organisation of economic activity in Madrid, Spain. Using establishment-level data from Madrid City Council and consumer-facing information from this short-term rental company, we find that Airbnb reshapes the urban space by encouraging tourist-oriented businesses, defined as businesses where tourists spend more than locals, at the

There is a proliferation of digitalisation of urban and health services in India under the Smart City and Digital Health missions, respectively. This study brings digital and feminist geographies together to understand the role of technologies in urban areas, particularly in health service delivery and how healthcare workers mediate these health platforms. Using a case study of Varanasi city in Uttar

The issue of employment classification has been central in the politics around the platform economy. Crucial has been the phenomenon of ‘bogus self-employment’, whereby workers in de facto dependent employment relationships conduct services as independent contractors. Legislators around the world have aimed to tackle this issue by obliging platforms to classify their workers as employees. Based on

This commentary explores the feasibility of blockchain technologies (and cryptocurrencies) in contesting the power of centralized, corporate platforms. While proponents of blockchain and cryptocurrencies regularly proclaim their power to decentralize and counter corporate power, I am much more constrained in my assessment and note the significant challenges facing open blockchain approaches in competing

COVID Keynesianism evaluates the USA and UK’s economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic and compares it to the previous iterations of the Anglo-American policy response template. The analysis details the morbid character of neoliberal state intervention by tracing the distributional routes of monetary and fiscal measures into global corporations and across the domestic economy. The comparative findings

Denmark is a Nordic welfare state with local government autonomy in public service provision related to workfare policies. We use a policy experiment that re-opened on-site public employment services after the first COVID-19 lockdown in a spatially staggered manner to provide evidence on the effect of public employment services on job placement during a crisis. Early re-opening of on-site public employment

This paper explores a neglected aspect of platform work: how the spatial mobility that app-based couriers must perform requires them to violate taken-for-granted assumptions that define who belongs where. By assigning tasks during atypical hours and requiring gig workers to use their personal clothing, tools and vehicles, platforms strip delivery workers of signifiers that legitimate their presence

While a large literature studies the various tools of autocratic survival, targeting opposition actors with austerity measures in electoral autocracies is hitherto understudied. This paper argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a rare opportunity for Hungary’s Fidesz party to disarm opposition parties via cutting off resources of municipalities led by opposition mayors and eliminating any remnants

In recent months, more studies are emerging regarding how various nations and regions fared during the initial two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada is cited as an example of a country that had performed reasonably well versus other countries with comparable infrastructures and health care systems (Razek et al., 2022). The reason is largely attributed to a combination of several public health

Amenity clusters consisting of coffee shops, restaurants and other small businesses improve urban life and are a source of employment for city dwellers. Although most small business clusters were hit hard by restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, some were able to adapt. What determines the economic resilience of amenity clusters? Using store-location data for Seoul from 2016 to 2021, we

Part of an ongoing longitudinal study, this article provides evidence on the emerging impacts of Covid-19 on the demand for, configuration and role of offices in cities, drawing on primary data from semi-structured interviews with UK-based corporate real estate managers. The research is grounded on a ‘theory of change’ framework combining real estate, institutional economics and economic geography

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed human mobility patterns in cities. Lockdowns, social distancing and flexible working hours have restructured pre-existing dynamics between two opposing forces in major cities: centripetal and centrifugal. To scrutinise the new dynamics, human mobility in the Seoul Metropolitan Area in early 2020 was investigated using big data collected from cell phone

The COVID-19 pandemic represented a short-term shift in US social policy. Under the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the federal government prioritised households by raising the floor for child support and unemployment benefits, and restoring fiscal federalism by providing increased funds to state and local governments. Our 2021 nationwide survey finds local governments with more

Economic policymaking shifted away from neoliberal ideals towards ‘crisis’ Keynesianism during the COVID-19 pandemic. We use a comparative process tracing approach to examine how political and economic actors in Britain, Germany and the USA attempt to legitimise a potential return to neoliberalism to voters. We show that pro-neoliberal actors discursively construct a ‘crisis’ of COVID-Keynesianism

This article assesses regulatory reform of the state in the context of the move to furloughing in the UK. It establishes that furloughing was a successful response to the COVID-19 crisis, partly because it challenged the traditional UK crisis response of non-state intervention in the labour market. Furloughing prevented higher unemployment and enabled a swifter recovery. The article also identifies

A potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the nature, rates and spatial configuration of innovation may change within and across cities. To examine these potential changes, this article draws on findings from data gathered through interviews, surveys and secondary data over two time periods: prior to the pandemic and during the fallout from the pandemic. The article utilises the concept of

Covid-19 has obliged public authorities to enact several restrictions to citizens’ everyday life. Some of them were or will be transitory, while others may result in long-term changes in production organisation. The analysis offered in this paper links the restrictions to the level of economic freedom of the EU members. The aim is to understand whether these two aspects were related, and the potential

This paper explores the local impact of various forms of fiscal and monetary support for UK-based companies in the context of disruption caused by COVID-19 and associated public health restrictions, including support for household incomes (and therefore private consumption) via the ‘furlough’ scheme, the Covid Corporate Financing Facility and various national and local business support schemes. It

This study establishes a novel empirical framework using machine learning techniques to measure the urban-regional disparity of the public’s mental health signals in Australia during the pandemic, and to examine the interrelationships amongst mental health, demographic and socioeconomic profiles of neighbourhoods, health risks and healthcare access. Our results show that the public’s mental health