We explain what economic geography is and what its object of study is. Also, its branches of study and other characteristics.
What is economic geography?
economic geography It is a branch of human geography which focuses its study on the relationship between the dynamics of production and consumption typical of the economy, and the geographical places in which these take place.
In other words, attempts to cross economic activity with geographic location to be able, among other things, to analyze where certain economic activities are located and why.
The economic geography approach is based on the idea that consumers are mobile and goods are generally produced in the same location. However, there are transportation dynamics that bring certain market niches the material they require to consume it.
That is to say, that is interested in the geographical movements inherent to the production process whether at a national, regional or global level. Also pay attention to the different economic systems that exist.
It is a vast social science and transdisciplinary perspectives. Its origins date back to the 15th century and the era of the expansion of the great European Empires, interested in cartography and knowledge of the world, and especially the location of available natural resources.
The first formal book on economic geography was Handbook for Commercial Geography (“Manual for Commercial Geography”) by the British George Chisholm, published in 1889. Just like other branches of geography, since 1970 this discipline reemerged and moved away from its initial deterministic perspectives, thus allowing the emergence of more current knowledge.
See also: Physical geography
Object of study of economic geography
The study topics of economic geography can be extremely diverse, as is the complexity of the economic circuit in the world. However, we can summarize them in:
- The mode of interrelationship between the environment and economic activity.
- The expansion and distribution of industry in the various regions of the globe.
- The specific trends of trade national and international trade.
- The economies of the populations human, organized according to ethnicity, religion, etc.
- The patterns of transport telecommunications and exchange of goods and services.
Features of economic geography
economic geography pursues a multidisciplinary perspective which aspires to address complex phenomena of the economy and societies, always from a spatial perspective. Yes Your fundamental concern is the distribution of economic activities on the earth's surface, and the way in which it influences other human areas.
For this reason, location, flow (transport) and demographic organization are very recurrent elements in their analyses, as well as mathematical and statistical models that allow make historical, political and cultural trends visible of geoeconomics.
Branches of economic geography
Economic geography is subdivided into the following branches:
- Historical economic geography As its name indicates, it presents its knowledge based on a synchronic view, that is, gradual over time, to detail how geoeconomic configurations evolve or where they originate.
- Theoretical economic geography Through descriptions and explanations, this subbranch tries to find mental models that allow us to better understand economic dynamics in geographical space, always tending towards abstraction and the general.
- Critical economic geography It starts from the application of economic, philosophical and sociological theories in the study of geoeconomics, to obtain conclusions that allow predictions, interpretations or construct points of view.
- Behavioral economic geography It delves into economic activities based on the behavior of societies, that is, people's decision-making and their spatial reasoning in the face of economic dynamics. It has nothing to do with psychological behaviorism, despite its name.
Importance of economic geography
In a globalized and diverse world like the contemporary one, economic geography is one of the main scientific tools to face the complicated flow of raw materials, industrial assets, capital and all the international economic actors on the planet.
Besides, offers the ideal perspective to understand the modes of economic and commercial exploitation that States undertake, always influenced by their geographical location and by their positioning within the economic, political, financial and socio-cultural blocks in which the world is divided and organized.
Auxiliary sciences of economic geography
Economic geography is not a closed discipline in itself, but often collaborates with and draws on other social sciences and other branches of geography itself, which are mainly:
- The economy To identify and study the productive processes and satisfaction of human needs;
- The story When it comes to understanding the economic evolution of the world and the way in which socioeconomic and sociocultural trends are structured over time;
- The demographics To use population analysis and the constitution of both individual and collective consumption;
- The politics Useful when addressing the power dynamics of humanity, the main causes of any social and geographical configuration;
- Earth sciences To understand where, how and why resources (raw materials, for example) are found in the various regions of the planet.
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References
- “Economic geography” on Wikipedia.
- “Economic Geography” in BanRepCultural.
- “What is Economic Geography?” in World Atlas.
- “Economic Geography: an Overview” in Science Direct.
- “Economic Geography” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
