Geography and International Inequalities: the Impact of New Technologies

Some writers have predicted that new technologies mean the 'death of distance', allowing suitably skilled economies to converge with high income countries. This paper evaluates this claim. It argues that geography matters for international income inequalities, and that new technologies will change, but not abolish this dependence. Some activities may become more entrenched in high income countries than they are at present. Others - where information can be readily codified and digitized - will relocate, but typically only to a subset of lower income countries. These countries will benefit, but other countries will continue to experience the costs of remoteness.

Spatial Disparities in Developing Countries: Cities, Regions and International Trade

Spatial inequality in developing countries is due to the natural advantages of some regions relative to others and to the presence of agglomeration forces, leading to clustering of activity. This paper reviews and develops some simple models that capture these first and second nature economic geographies. The presence of increasing returns to scale in cities leads to urban structures that are not optimally sized. This depresses the return to job creation, possibly retarding development. Looking at the wider regional structure, development can be associated with large shifts in the location of activity as industry goes from being inward looking to being export oriented.cities, spatial disparities, urbanisation, developing countries

Internal Geography and External Trade: regional disparities in Italy, 1861-2011

This paper explores the interactions between external trade and regional disparities in the Italian economy since unification. It argues that the advantage of the North was initially based on natural advantage (in particular the endowment of water, intensive in silk production). From 1880 onwards the share of exports in GDP stagnated and then declined; domestic market access therefore became a key determinant of industrial location, inducing fast growing new sectors (especially engineering) to locate in regions with a large domestic market, i.e. in the North. From 1945 onwards trade growth and European integration meant that foreign market access was the decisive factor; the North had the advantage of proximity to these markets.industrialisation, market integration, new economic geography, geographic concentration, Italian regions

Buzz: Face-to-Face Contact and the Urban Economy

This paper argues that existing models of urban concentrations are incomplete unless grounded in the most fundamental aspect of proximity; face-to-face contact. Face-to-face contact has four main features; it is an efficient communication technology; it can help solve incentive problems; it can facilitate socialization and learning; and it provides psychological motivation. We discuss each of these features in turn, and develop formal economic models of two of them. Face-to-face is particularly important in environments where information is imperfect, rapidly changing, and not easily codified, key features of many creative activities.Agglomeration, clustering, urban economics, face-to-face

Globalization in History: A Geographical Perspective

This paper argues that a geographical perspectie is fundamental to understanding comparative economic development in the context of globalization. Central to this view is the role of agglomeration in productivity performance; size and location matter. The tools of the new economic geography are used to illuminate important epidsodes when the relative position of major eeconmies radically changed; the rise of the United States at the beginning and of East Asia at the end of the twentieth century. It is suggested that while lack of high quality institutions has been a major reason for falling behind geographic disadvantage also merits attention.Globalization, economic geography, economic history

Timeliness, Trade and Agglomeration

An important element of the cost of distance is time taken in delivering final and intermediategoods. We argue that time costs are qualitatively different from direct monetary costs such asfreight charges. The difference arises because of uncertainty. Unsynchronised deliveries candisrupt production, and delivery time can force producers to order components beforedemand and cost uncertainties are resolved. Using several related models we show that thiscan cause clustering of component production. If final assembly takes place in two locationsand component production has increasing returns to scale, then component production willtend to cluster around just one of the assembly plants.Just- in-time, clustering, location, trade.

Explaining Cross-Country Export Performance: International Linkages and Internal Geography

This paper investigates the determinants of countries' export performance looking in particular at the role of international product market linkages. We begin with a novel decomposition of the growth in countries' exports into the contribution from increases in external demand and from improved internal supply-side conditions. Building on the results of this decomposition, we move on to an econometric analysis of the determinants of export performance. Results include the finding that poor external geography, poor internal geography, and poor institutional quality contribute in approximately equal measure to explaining Sub-Saharan Africa's poor export performance.Economic Development, Economic Geography, International Trade

Preferential Trading Arrangements and Industrial Location

This paper considers the location effects of geographically discriminatory trade policy. A preferential move towards a customs union pulls industry into the integrating countries. When internal barriers fall below some critical level, input-output links between imperfectly competitive firms lead some customs union countries to gain industry at the expense of others. A hub- and-spoke arrangement favours location in the hub, with better reciprocal access induces agglomeration in the hub and may trigger disparities between the spokes.

Geography and Export Performance: External Market Access and Internal Supply Capacity

This paper investigates the determinants of countries' export performance looking in particular at the role of international product market linkages. We begin with a novel decomposition of the growth in countries' exports into the contribution from increases in external demand and from improved internal supply-side conditions. Building on the results of this decomposition we move on to an econometric analysis of the determinants of export performance. Results include the finding that poor external geography, poor internal geography, and poor institutional quality contribute in approximately equal measure to explaining Sub-Saharan Africa's poor export performance.