As emphasised in the beginning, the considerations presented here are very preliminary by nature. Nevertheless, some of the aspects discussed seem worth summarising. First, financial markets worldwide show a tendency of asymmetric regional " clustering" with newly emerging places challenging the...

International analysis of economic growth has confirmed the theoretical assumption that international variations in per capita income can to a large extent be explained by differences in the accumulation of capital and human capital and by differing rates of technological progress. However,...

This paper emphasises the importance of the political-institutional dimension in the understanding of the spatial distribution of economic activity. We introduce the notion of Territorial Authority Scale, which refers to the degree of devolution (towards sub-national tiers of government)...

Geography causes African countries to experience a ‘proximity gap’. To overcome this gap a ‘big push’ may be needed in infrastructure. The cross-border nature of such infrastructure requires regional cooperation in at least four issues: transport infrastructure, trade facilitation,...

This paper studies the impact of physical distance and different relational proximity types on the formation of the Internet infrastructure. Although there is some anecdotal evidence on the 'end of geography' effect of the Internet, the relationship between physical space and the Internet has...

This paper addresses new trends in quantitative geography research. Modern social science research - including economic and social geography - has in the past decades shown an increasing interest in micro-oriented behaviour of actors. This is inter alia clearly reflected in spatial interaction...

Using an analytically solvable equilibrium model, we study how the distribution of economic activities is affected by the trade-off between pecuniary externalities, as dependent on transportation costs, and localized technological externalities, as dependent on inter-regional spillovers. We...

Der ostdeutsche Dienstleistungssektor hat seit 1995 kontinuierlich Beschäftigung aufgebaut und somit erheblich zur Stabilisierung der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung beigetragen. Allerdings blieben Leistungskraft und Wachstum hinter der Entwicklung in Westdeutschland zurück. Deutliche Defizite -...

Vielerorts zählt die "Freizeit- und Tourismusbranche" gegenwärtig zu den wachstumsstärksten Wirtschaftsbereichen. Mit dieser Dynamik geht eine galoppierende Ausdifferenzierung des Angebotes und der Nachfrage einher, deren freizeit- und tourismuswissenschaftliche Aufarbeitung eine große...

In this review article I place industrial economics at the center of the explanation for the geographic properties of Internet infrastructure, applying this established mode of analysis to the unique cost structures and demand characteristics of these markets. I begin with an overview of the...