Dynamics And Conflict In Regional Structural Change

The second in a two volume tribute to Walter Isard, the first being "New Frontiers in Regional Science", this book looks at dynamics and conflict in regional structural change. Together they contain 50 papers by experts in this field, and look at subjects such as location theory.

The authors in this book regard the process of economic expansion as a non-homogeneous and multifaceted phenomenon which has deeply affected human welfare, and cultural, social and political change. The book is a bridge between the theorists (Rosenstein-Rodan, Lewis, Myrdal, and Hirschmann) who in the post-war period analyzed regional inequalities, structural change and dualism, and the modern literature on economic growth. The latter has emphasized the existence of multiple equilibria, bifurcations and various types of dynamic complexity, and clarified the conditions for the emergence of phenomena such as cumulative causation, path dependence and hysteresis. These are the typical ingredients of structural change, economic development or underdevelopment.

Economic agents interact in structural relationships through time and space. This work starts from the empirical observation that all three dimensions, namely time, space, and structural functional forms, are important for an integrative framework of modern empirical analysis in regional science. The work thus aims at combining up-to-date econometric tools from the fields of spatial econometrics, panel time-series analysis and structural simultaneous equation modelling to analysis the different research questions at hand. Most of the topics dealt within this work start from a concrete empirical problem, while problem solving also aims at generating some new knowledge in a methodological way, e.g. by the complementary use of Monte Carlo simulation studies to compare the empirical performance of different estimators for specific data samples. Following a first introductory chapter, the work is structured in three parts addressing major issues in building up a stylized regional economic model such as interregional migration, factor and final demand estimation. All empirical applications use German regional data.

Is the phenomenon of state failure better understood through a focus on the regional context? To what extent may studies of regional security benefit from a focus on the capacities and vulnerabilities of the states involved? This title addresses these questions.

Regional development problems in China have been focused on by many analysts and policy makers. From the viewpoint of regional development policy, it is highly important to consider the spatial interactions among different regions. Most of the approaches have focused on certain specific regions, without taking into account interregional interdependency. The aim of this book is to analyze regional development in China from the viewpoint of spatial interaction by using inter-regional input-output model for China.

Analysis of the space economy demands a keen curiosity supported by a rigorous methodology and a strong sense of the problems at hand. However, the blend of these two capabilities is more unusual than one would be inclined to believe. Professor Martin Beckmann is one of those exceptional scholars whose original theoretical insights and elegant contributions have been crucial to our understanding of the complex mechanism of the space economy. Drawing on the basic social science theory, he has developed a significant body of knowledge which represents fundamental contributions to the fields of location theory, transportation economics, mathematical economics and organizational theory. For over four decades, Martin Beckmann's creativity, originality and excellence in the broad sense of scientific discovery made him play a pivotal and leading role in regional science. A creative artist, Martin Beckmann was never a loner: he not only presented his views in that spare and elegant style we know him by, but also listened. One may say that on these intellectual voyages in the space economy, Martin Beckmann was both a teacher and a pupil. Accompanying him on such a discovery trip was a memorable experience: the final destination was not always defined, but the journey was ever exciting and full of surprises. Some of the great many fellow travellers of Martin Beckmann offer a tribute to a great scientist and professional colleague through this Festschrift.

This timely book presents fresh, forward-looking analyses of key regions across the globe. Tracking politico-economic trajectories, the contributors chart the resulting power dynamics likely to shape relationships within each region, offering a crucial guide to patterns of cooperation, conflict, and domination over the coming decades.