Zur Diskussion gestellt. Erster Nobelpreis für einen „economic geographer“ – eine Bewertung aus Sicht eines Wirtschaftsgeographen

2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf Sternberg
Keyword(s):  
Nobel Prize ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Good News ◽  
New Economic Geography ◽  
Spatial Equilibrium ◽  
Spatial Concentration ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Considerable Effort ◽  
Trading Patterns ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

First Nobel Prize given to an “economic geographer” - a critical assessment from the perspective of a proper economic geographer. This paper critically assesses both the theoretical approach of the New Economic Geography (NEG) developed by US economist Paul Krugman and the decision of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to give him the 2008 “Nobel Prize in Economics” for his work on trading patterns and the spatial concentration of economic activities. This assessment is done from the perspective of a proper economic geographer. The basics of Krugman’s NEG models are presented and discussed in the lights of the state-of-the-art of current theoretical and empirical work on NEG. A considerable effort is undertaken to identify the specific strengths and weaknesses of this attempt to explain spatial concentration of economic activities in the scope of spatial equilibrium models. Despite the fact that most of the proper economic geographers, namely in Germany, have hitherto been quite reluctant in working with NEG models and its propositions the message targeted at economic geographers is clear: they should use the huge potential of the NEG available for empirical and policy-related research more intensively than before. Thus, the decision of the Nobel Prize committee is good news not only for economists interested in spatial concentration, but for proper economic geographers as well.

scholarly journals Spatial Spillover Effects of Agricultural Transport Costs in Peru

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Herrera-Catalán ◽  
Coro Chasco ◽  
Máximo Torero
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Equilibrium Analysis ◽  
New Economic Geography ◽  
Spatial Equilibrium ◽  
Transport Costs ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Flow Models ◽  
Spatial Spillovers

The role of agricultural transport costs in core-periphery structures has habitually been ignored in New Economic Geography (NEG) models. This is due to the convention of treating the agricultural good as the numéraire, thus implying that agricultural transportation costs are assumed to be zero in these models. For more than three decades, this has been the standard setting in spatial equilibrium analysis. The paper examines the effects of agricultural transport costs on the spatial organisation of regional structures in Peru. In doing so, the Krugman’s formulation of iceberg transport costs is modified to introduce the agricultural transport costs into the dynamic of the NEG models. We use exploratory spatial flow data analysis methods and non-spatial and spatial origin-destination flow models to explore how the regional spatial structure change when real transportation data for agricultural goods is included into the iceberg transport costs formulation. We show that agricultural transport costs generate flows that are systematically associated with flows to or from nearby regions generating thus the emergence of spatial spillovers across Peruvian regions. The results of the paper support the contention that NEG models have overshadowed the role of agricultural transport costs in determining the spatial configuration of economic activities.

The Contribution of New Economic Geography

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Mossay ◽  
Pierre M. Picard
Keyword(s):  
Economic Geography ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Multiple Equilibria ◽  
Market Access ◽  
Experimental Methodology ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
New Economic Geography ◽  
Spatial Concentration ◽  
Transport Costs ◽  
Economic Activities

New Economic Geography (NEG) provides microeconomic foundations for explaining the spatial concentration of economic activities across regions, cities, and urban areas. The origins of the NEG literature trace back to trade, location, and urbans economics theories. In NEG, agglomeration and dispersion forces explain the existence of spatial agglomerations. A NEG model usually incorporates a combination of such forces. In particular, firm proximity to large markets and the importance of linkages along a supply chain are typical agglomeration forces. Equilibria properties derived from NEG models are very specific to NEG as they involve multiple equilibria and have a very high dependence on changes in parameters. This phenomenon has important implications for the emergence of nations, regions, and cities. In particular, high transport costs imply the dispersion of economic activities, while low transport costs lead to their spatial concentration. The same forces that shape inequalities and disparities between regions also shape the internal structure of cities. Firms concentrate in urban centers to gain greater access to larger demand. The empirical literature has developed several approaches that shed light on spatial agglomeration and estimate the role and impact of transport costs on market access. A key empirical research question is whether observed patterns could be explained by location amenities or agglomeration forces as put forward by NEG. Quasi-experimental methodology is frequently used for such a purpose. NEG theory is supported by empirical evidence, demonstrating the role of market access.

ABEL PRIZE AS THE FLAGSHIP OF WORLD MATH ADVANCES

2020 ◽  
pp. 57-71
Author(s):  
Nataliya V. Grishina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Nobel Prize ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Famous Scientist ◽  
International Authority ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
First Time

The annual prize, awarded by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, bears the name of the famous scientist Niels-Henrik Abel and has a reputation as a Nobel Prize for mathematicians, with its size in terms of money of about $1 million. Since Alfred Nobel, in his will, determined the range of scientific areas for the payment of bonuses that did not include mathematics, the Norwegian mathematician Sofus Lee at the end of his life devoted all his efforts and his international authority to create a foundation for awarding prizes to mathematicians. He wanted to give the award the name of Niels Henrik Abel, also a Norwegian mathematician. The article presents a historical background for the formation of the Abel Prize. The winners of the main mathematical prize for all the years of its existence and their major achievements are shown. Among laureates of the Abel Prize there are outstanding scientists from 11 countries: France, Great Britain, Lebanon, USA, Hungary, Sweden, India, Belgium, Russia, Canada and Israel. Three times the prize was at once awarded to two scientists. And in 2019, for the first time ever the woman – Karen Keskalla Uhlenbeck – professor, American mathematician, became the winner of the prestigious mathematics award.

Building entrepreneurial capacity in rural areas

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 903-918
Author(s):  
Anna Krakowiak-Bal ◽  
Urszula Ziemianczyk ◽  
Andrzej Wozniak
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Important Criterion ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Ahp Method ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to verify the development of economic activities in rural areas in terms of their public infrastructural equipment. Design/methodology/approach As a case study, the Polish rural areas were selected. A two-stage survey was conducted in 2015. The first stage involved entrepreneurs from rural areas. The second stage of survey was data collection for rural areas regarding economic activity and infrastructural equipment. In total, 121 objects (communes) were selected. The multicriteria analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method was used for the analysis. Findings The results demonstrate that for each kind of business, communication accessibility is the most important criterion. By contrast, environmental awareness and concern for the environment is the least important element for pursuit of the economic activity in rural areas. Research limitations/implications Limitations are connected mainly with the applied AHP method. The number of the comparable elements at the same hierarchy level is limited due to practical purposes. In addition, an assumption of full comparability of elements (criteria and alternatives) in the hierarchy model can be discussed. Furthermore, data quality and availability limit the scope of the empirical work. This study is a major simplification of reality modeling, but it gives practical benefits by simplifying the decision support procedure. Practical implications The findings of this paper contribute to the advancing theory of local development, with public infrastructure being one of its basic elements (factor of production). This paper explores the importance of physical infrastructure for different economic activities, and thus offers theoretical insights in two areas. First, this paper indicates the uneven weight of each infrastructure element for the various business sectors. Second, based on the collected data, this study also contributes to the literature, by using the AHP method to explore the relationships between infrastructural equipment and economic activity in rural areas. As the practical implication for local and regional development policies, this study indicates, that the most important criterion for each kind of economic activity is communication accessibility. This kind of public investment should be undertaken primarily to support entrepreneurship, especially in rural areas. Originality/value The uniqueness of the method lies in assumption about the uneven weights of infrastructure elements and therefore their impact on the process of ranking the objects (rural areas). The weight of individual infrastructure elements will vary depending on the kind of economic activity; therefore, the way of ordering will also be different for each economic activity.

Otto Meyerhof, 1884 - 1951

1954 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-200 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nobel Prize ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Artistic Development ◽  
School Life ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Long Period ◽  
University Of Edinburgh ◽  
The University ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Foreign Member

Otto Meyerhof was born on 12 April 1884 in Berlin and died in Philadelphia on 6 October 1951 at the age of 67; he was the son of Felix Meyerhof, who was born in 1849 at Hildesheim, and Bettina Meyerhof, nee May, born in 1862 in Hamburg; both his father and grandfather had been in business. An elder sister and two younger brothers died long before him. In 1923 he shared the Nobel prize for Physiology (for 1922) with A. V. Hill. He received an Hon. D.C.L. in 1926 from the University of Edinburgh, was a Foreign Member (1937) of the Royal Society of London, an Hon. Member of the Harvey Society and of Sigma XI. In 1944 he was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. Otto Meyerhof went through his school life up to the age of 14 without delay, but there is no record that he was then brilliant. When he was 16 he developed some kidney trouble, which caused a long period of rest in bed. This period of seclusion seems to have been responsible for a great mental and artistic development. Reading constantly he matured perceptibly, and in the autumn of 1900 was sent to Egypt on the doctor’s advice for recuperation.

scholarly journals The Wroblewski Library History: Case of the Purchase of the Plater’s Pustynia Estate Book Collection

Knygotyra ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 141-165
Author(s):  
Daiva Narbutienė
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
Library History ◽  
Considerable Effort ◽  
Entire Collection ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Book Collections ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
The Town

The founder of the Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Tadeusz Stanisław Wróblewski (1858–1925), began to enrich the library of his parents, which he inherited in 1891, through his acquisitions of books, manuscripts, periodicals, collections of iconographic documents, and other valuables. One of such book collections, offered to him for sale in 1907, was from the Pustynia Estate located near the town of Kraslava, then part of the Vitebsk Province (Kraslava now is a municipality center in the Republic of Latvia, situated not far from Daugavpils and near the border with the Russian Federation). This collection belonged to Count Henryk de Broel-Plater (1868–after 1926). Having studied its catalogue, Wroblewski purchased from the count his entire collection (over 6000 volumes) on October 30, 1907, for 2.5 thousand roubles. However, Plater had hid several hundred of his most valuable books, which he later offered to Hieronym Wilder’s antique bookshop in Warsaw. Wroblewski had to exercise a considerable effort to reclaim the books he rightly owned. Based both on archival materials kept in the Wroblewski Library of LAS and on evidence collected about publications carrying the Pustynia Estate pro­venance mark (350 copies have been identified so far), the article discusses the circumstances of the purchase of Plater’s book collection and overviews its content and development. The Pustynia estate library was rather universal by its content and contained extremely valuable editions. Wroblewski purchased from the count, among other rarities, Joannes Radvanus’s Radivilias (Vilnae, Metropoli Litvanorum: ex officina Ioannis Kartzani, 1592), a Latin biography by the Lutheran pastor Paul Oderborn Ioannis Basilidis magni Moscoviae ducis vita (Witebergae: excudebat haeredes Ioannis Cratonis, 1585), and a treatise on the differences between the Catholic and the Orthodox faiths by the Kraków canon Jan Sakran, Elucidarius errorum ritus Ruthenici (Cracoviae: typis Joannis Haller, post V 1501). There are no more copies of these and several other Plater’ s books in Lithuania.

New Economic Geography

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-mu Chen ◽  
Shin-Kun Peng
Keyword(s):  
General Equilibrium ◽  
Economic Geography ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Spatial Models ◽  
Reduced Form ◽  
New Economic Geography ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Economic Agents ◽  
Spatial Economy ◽  
Spatial Configurations

For research attempting to investigate why economic activities are distributed unevenly across geographic space, new economic geography (NEG) provides a general equilibrium-based and microfounded approach to modeling a spatial economy characterized by a large variety of economic agglomerations. NEG emphasizes how agglomeration (centripetal) and dispersion (centrifugal) forces interact to generate observed spatial configurations and uneven distributions of economic activity. However, numerous economic geographers prefer to refer to the term new economic geographies as vigorous and diversified academic outputs that are inspired by the institutional-cultural turn of economic geography. Accordingly, the term geographical economics has been suggested as an alternative to NEG. Approaches for modeling a spatial economy through the use of a general equilibrium framework have not only rendered existing concepts amenable to empirical scrutiny and policy analysis but also drawn economic geography and location theories from the periphery to the center of mainstream economic theory. Reduced-form empirical studies have attempted to test certain implications of NEG. However, due to NEG’s simplified geographic settings, the developed NEG models cannot be easily applied to observed data. The recent development of quantitative spatial models based on the mechanisms formalized by previous NEG theories has been a breakthrough in building an empirically relevant framework for implementing counterfactual policy exercises. If quantitative spatial models can connect with observed data in an empirically meaningful manner, they can enable the decomposition of key theoretical mechanisms and afford specificity in the evaluation of the general equilibrium effects of policy interventions in particular settings. Several decades since its proposal, NEG has been criticized for its parsimonious assumptions about the economy across space and time. Therefore, existing challenges still require theoretical and quantitative models on new microfoundations pertaining to the interactions between economic agents across geographical space and the relationship between geography and economic development.

scholarly journals Europas Kampf gegen die Arbeitslosigkeit – was bewirken die Strukturfonds?

2003 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Berthold ◽  
Michael Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Wage Structure ◽  
New Economic Geography ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Unemployed People ◽  
Income Differences ◽  
Structural Funds ◽  
The Core ◽  
Income Disparities ◽  
Peripheral Regions

AbstractThe European Union is characterised by large and persistent disparities across regions concerning income distribution and unemployment rates. European Structural Funds (ESF) have been raised to narrow income differences and foster employment in lagging regions. The paper describes the ESF and argues that they are counteracted by national policies using the theoretical framework of New Economic Geography. The agglomeration of economic activities in some regions can cause unemployment in other regions of the same country since the national wage structure is compressed. National transfers to peripheral regions with high unemployment prevent unemployed people from moving into the core. Assistance from the ESF to peripheral regions enable countries to continue inefficient national wage and transfer policies. In this respect, the ESF must not aim at fighting unemployment but should be restricted to lessen income disparities.

scholarly journals Cliometrics and the Nobel

1995 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Goldin
Keyword(s):  
Nobel Prize ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Royal Swedish Academy ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

In October 1993, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics to Robert William Fogel and Douglass Cecil North ‘for having renewed research in economic history.’ The Academy noted that ‘they were pioneers in the branch of economic history that has been called the ‘new economic history,’ or ‘cliometrics." In this paper, the author addresses what this cliometrics is and how these two Nobel Prize winners furthered the discipline of economics.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document