China's Emergent City‐Region Governance: A New Form of State Spatial Selectivity through State‐orchestrated Rescaling

This article examines the emergence of city‐region governance as a specific state spatial selectivity in post‐reform China. The process has been driven by the state in response to the crisis of economic decentralization, and to vicious inter‐city competition and uncoordinated development. As part of the recentralization of state power, the development of urban clusters (chengshiqun) as interconnected city‐regions is now a salient feature of ‘new urbanization' policy. I argue in this article that the Chinese city‐region corresponds to specific logics of scale production. Economic globalization has led to the development of local economies and further created the need to foster ‘regional competitiveness'. To cope with regulatory deficit at the regional level, three mechanisms have been orchestrated by the state: administrative annexation, spatial plan preparation and regional institution building, which reflect recent upscaling in post‐reform governance.     

Networks,Regional Development and Democratic Control

The networking literature has burgeoned in recent years within a complex cross‐disciplinary field and particularly in economic geography and regional planning. Networks have been analysed both as organizational expressions of globalization, linked to claims about the rise of the network society, and as territorial and cultural systems of exchange. Concepts of networks and networking have been accepted as positive, and sometimes also as progressive or radical within both social science and policy discourses. In this article we analyse regionally embedded economic networks and the EU’s urban and regional policy networks as a new mode of administration, at a variety of spatial scales. Little attention has been paid to the theoretical implications of using the concept of network as a social metaphor or to the operation of actually existing networks, as a result of conceptualizing networks in ways that deny their constitutive inequalities, asymmetries and democratic deficits. This darker side has been pushed into the shadows by the rhetorical emphasis on the benefits claimed for networked organizational forms.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN EAST ASIA: FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF SPATIAL ECONOMICS

This paper examines the recent evolution of regional integration in East Asia, and discusses the prospects and tasks of further integration. After an overview of the globalization and regional integration trend in EU, NAFTA and East Asia during the past half-century, we introduce the basic framework of spatial economics, often called the new economic geography. In terms of globalization and regional integration, it is important to examine the general effects of decreasing transport costs (broadly defined) on spatial distribution of economic activities. Given this theoretical framework, we examine the changing economic interdependency within East Asia, as well as that between East Asia and the rest of the world over the last three decades. Next, we focus on regional diversity and disparity in East Asia. Finally, we compare the regional integration in EU with that of East Asia, and examine the tasks and prospects of further promotion of East Asian integration.     

Still in search of strategic human resource management? A review and suggestions for future research with China as an example

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has been an important strand of research in the HRM field for over three decades, and has attracted heated debates in recent years. One main critique of the state of SHRM research is its increasing detachment from HRM practice, in the pursuit of more theoretical rigor and methodological sophistication. Our review article has two main tasks. First, we review SHRM research published in two leading HRM journals—Human Resource Management and Human Resource Management Journal—in the light of the criticisms on SHRM research and use this as a backdrop of our second task. Second, we critically examine SHRM research conducted in the Chinese context by drawing on a systematic review on extant literature. In doing so, we draw on a wider range of HRM journals such as Human Resource Management Review, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, and so forth. We find that while the trend of psychologization in SHRM research is gathering pace, the range of theoretical perspectives mobilized to inform the studies is actually expanding. We call for SHRM research to be more contextualized and more practical phenomenon‐driven SHRM research. We indicate several avenues for future research, using China as an example.     

Accounts from behind the Curtain: History and Geography in the Critical Analysis of Urban Theory

This article seeks to contribute to the debate on the proposal to decentre urban theory and to develop postcolonial urban studies, and on the related issue of the geography of the production and circulation of knowledge. It focuses on how scholars writing about post‐socialist cities explain why their sub‐field has so far contributed little to urban theory, and it proposes an alternative—historically informed—perspective on the issue. Based on an analysis of the ties and exchanges that existed between urban studies in Central and Eastern Europe and ‘West‐based' urban theory and research during the state‐socialist period, this article argues that the recognized current position of research on post‐socialist cities in relation to international urban scholarship has important historical parallels with the period prior to 1989. The article thus underlines the need to include a historically informed analysis of geography of knowledge production in critical thinking about urban theory and in the project of cosmopolitan urban studies. The capacities of researchers in different localities to contribute to this project are various and shaped by the history of the discipline. The conditions and perspectives in and from which researchers contribute to urban theory should therefore be taken into account if the project of cosmopolitan urban studies is to succeed.     

SHORTER REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: Featherstone, M. (ed.), 1990: Global culture: nationalism, globalization and modernity. Fine, B., 1990: The coal question: political economy and industrial change from the nineteenth century to the present day. Hebbert, M. and J.C. Hansen (eds), 1990: Unfamiliar territory: the reshaping of European geography. Lange, P. and M. Regini (eds), 1990: State, market and social regulation: new perspectives on Italy. Villasante, T., J. Alguacil, C. Denche, A. Hernández Aja, C. Leon and I. Velázquez, 1990: Retrato de chabolista con piso: análisis de redes sociales en la remodelación de barrios de Madrid. Watson, S. (ed.), 1989: Playing the state: Australian feminist interventions.     

MODELS OF REGIONAL GROWTH: PAST,PRESENT AND FUTURE

Abstract This paper presents an overview of various models of regional growth that have appeared in the literature in the last 40 years. It considers the past, and therefore supply‐side models, such as the standard neoclassical, juxtaposed against essentially demand‐side approaches such as the export‐base and cumulative causation models (as integrated into the Kaldorian approach); before moving on to the ‘present’ and more recent versions of the neoclassical model involving spatial weights and ‘convergence clubs’, as well as new economic geography core–periphery models, and the ‘innovation systems’ approach. A key feature of the more recent literature is an attempt to explicitly include spatial factors into the model, and thus there is a renewed emphasis on agglomeration economies and spillovers. Discussing ‘present’ and ‘future’ approaches to regional growth overlaps with the current emphasis in the literature on the importance of more intangible factors such as the role of ‘knowledge’ and its influence on growth. Finally, there is a discussion of the greater emphasis that needs to be placed at the ‘micro‐level’ when considering what drives growth, and thus factors such as inter alia firm heterogeneity, entrepreneurship and absorptive capacity.     

From Frontier to Bridgehead: Cross‐border Regions and the Experience of Yunnan,China

Drawing on recent theoretical tenets regarding cross‐border regions, this article analyzes China's state spatial policies that aim to transform Yunnan from a peripheral frontier into an economic bridgehead. The purposes of the present study are threefold: to contextualize the formation of Yunnan as China's frontier; to examine why Yunnan has been strategically selected as a bridgehead to promote China's transnational economies; and to explore the central–provincial alliance as an innovative institutional arrangement and look at how this alliance can convert Yunnan into a space of exception or new state space of development. This study finds that in order to convert regional assets into real competitiveness, the Chinese state (national, provincial and local) emphasizes transnational cooperation, endeavors to maximize Yunnan's place‐specific locational advantages and promotes the differentiation of regional developmental trajectories across China's national territory. The article contributes to studies of institutional arrangements for cross‐border cooperation in a non‐Western context and sheds light on China's regional development policies in its hinterland.     

Why ‘Good Governance’ Fails: Lessons from Regional Economic Development in Colombia

By critically reviewing different strands of literature on institutional change and development, this essay argues that, in order to fully understand subnational economic development, we need to move away from ‘good governance' explanations in which geography‐specific analyses of power structures and elite interests are largely absent. Using findings for Colombia and insights from economic geography and heterodox political economy theories, this essay gives theoretical and conceptual guidelines and approximations for future studies on regional economic development. The contribution provides a place‐based discussion of how the historically evolved distribution of power balances, context‐specific elite interests, and the interaction between place‐bound actors and place‐less dynamics affect subnational institutional arrangements shaping policies and development outcomes. The conclusions drawn are not limited to Colombia and will prove beneficial to researchers studying regional economic development in subnational contexts elsewhere in the world.     

Sunken Cities: Climate Change,Urban Futures and the Imagination of Submergence

Climate change presents multiple challenges to cities—not only in terms of the resilience and sustainability of the urban fabric, but also in relation to how urban inhabitants imagine they might adapt to a future transformed environment. This article explores imaginative modes of thinking in relation to future cities and climate change, focusing on representations of urban drowning or submergence. It considers, in turn, climate‐change fictions—from J.G. Ballard's 1962 novel The Drowned World to Paulo Bacigalupi's The Drowned Cities, published in 2012; visual representations from Gustave Doré's The New Zealander in 1872 to Alexis Rockman's 2004 Manifest Destiny; and architectural conjecture, from Wolf Hilbertz's Autopia Ampere project from 1970 onwards to CRAB Studio's Soak City in 2009. The article draws out how these imaginaries intersect with theoretical understandings of science fiction and ecology, contending that an emphasis on multiple imaginaries of climate change is critical to expanding the narrow range of possibilities that currently characterize the literature on cities and climate change. Imaginative texts, images and designs mutually inform each other to encourage holistic ways of approaching how we think about the prospect of urban submergence and to incubate radical responses to it.     

中小企业产业集群升级的理论与实践

中小企业产业集群升级是分析经济全球化背景下经济活动的一种崭新重要理论。关于这一问题的研究,在20世纪90年代,西方学者大多从集群生命周期、全球价值链和区域创新网络视角进行阐释。近些年国内学者也开始对产业集群升级问题进行了一些理论和实证分析。但就以往研究成果来看,大多是基于经济增长常态的确定环境下所作的探讨,而运用企业生态学研究动态环境下产业集群升级模式的文献极少。所以,本文在对中小企业产业集群升级的国内外理论文献进行重点梳理的基础上,试图作进一步的理论深化和拓展:基于金融危机影响效应的判断,通过对我国产业集群发展现实形态和结构困境的分析,提出我国中小企业产业集群升级的分层梯度式模式构想和对策建议,进而为我国形成促进区域产业集群可持续发展的机制提供理论支撑和应用例证。     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed: Hugh Atkinson and Stuart Wilks‐Heeg Local government from Thatcher to Blair: the politics of creative autonomy Alistair Cole and Peter John Local governance in England and France Gertjan Dijkink and Hans Knippenberg (eds.) The territorial factor: political geography in a globalising world André Donzel Marseille: l'expérience de la cité John Dunning (ed.) Regions, globalization, and the knowledge based economy Jonathan Glancey Bread and circuses Brian Richards Future transport in cities Marco Buti, Daniele Franco and Lucio R. Pench (eds.) The welfare state in Europe: challenges and reforms Kenneth Kolson Big plans: the allure and folly of urban design Sako Musterd and Willem Salet (eds.) Amsterdam human capital Martin Kronauer Exklusion: Die Gefährdung des Sozialen im hochentwickelten Kapitalismus     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed: Louis Albrechts, Jeremy Alden and Artur de Rosa Pires, The changing institutional landscape of planning Robert Boyer and Yves Saillard (eds.), Regulation theory: the state of the art Neil Leach, The hieroglyphics of space: reading and experiencing the modern metropolis Ida Susser (ed.), The Castells reader on cities and social theory Martin Dangerfield, Subregional economic cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe – the political economy of CEFTA Richard Phillips, Diane Watts and David Shuttleton (eds.), De‐centring sexualities: politics and representations beyond the metropolis Michael Pacione,Urban geography: a global perspective     

Synergistic effects and the co-existence of networks in clusters

Abstract

Network systems like clusters are characterized by the coexistence of relational architectures with ties and nodes of different nature. While recent research has analysed how a set of structural features shape the dynamics and effects of one cluster network, the outstanding question is to what extent such features and outcomes are influenced by the concomitance of distinct content-related linkages. This paper integrates both network and evolutionary economic geography perspectives to develop and test a model that links innovation performance with the benefits that stem from technical and business relations. Data collected in a biotech cluster in the Valencia region (Spain) demonstrate the changing effect of brokerage and overlapping ties on innovation as a function of knowledge shared. Findings extend the theoretical understanding of how knowledge diffuses in clusters and provide valuable insights for both practitioners and policy makers.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Breheny, M. , editor, 1988: Defence expenditure and regional development. Cowlishaw, G. K. 1988: Black, white or brindle: race in rural Australia. Friedrichs, J. , editor, 1988: Affordable housing and the homeless. Goss, S. 1988: Local labour and local government: a study of changing interests, politics and policy in Southwark from 1919 to 1982. Marshall, M. 1987: Long waves of regional development. Rex, J. 1988: The ghetto and the underclass: essays on race and social policy. Sassen, S. 1988: The mobility of labor and capital: a study in international investment and labor flow. Ward, S.V. 1988: The geography of interwar Britain: the state and uneven development.     

Schumpeter,Commons, and Veblen on Institutions

This article compares Schumpeter, Veblen, and Commons with regard to institutions setting up the paradigm of institutional evolutionary economics. Their theories are of a complex nature, and as such, it is very difficult to situate them in a clear‐cut tradition. The main similarity is their opposition to the thesis that market economy is an independent and self‐regulating system, in an attempt to integrate economic, sociological, and political perspectives with regard to the functioning of the system. Also, change per se is in contrast to the notion of equilibrium. Of course, despite the parallels, the existence of differences is undeniable.     

The Ascendance of New York Fashion

This article examines the evolution of New York City from a low‐end, high‐volume apparel manufacturing hub to an international fashion capital. Drawing on evolutionary economic theories of path‐dependence, it argues that New York City's initial specialization in ready‐to‐wear apparel has shaped its subsequent development as a mass‐market oriented industry. At the same time, however, it shows how key institutional actors were able to alter the industry's course of development at critical historical junctures by nurturing and promoting their own local design talent. As such, the article's investigation into New York's ascendance as an international fashion center challenges the dominant interpretation of path‐dependence in regional development theory and practice. It contends that industries are not held captive to past choices and illustrates how an industry's origins can shape but not over‐determine its economic development trajectory. L'article examine l'évolution de la ville de New York, laquelle est passée d'un centre de manufacture industrielle de vêtements bas de gamme à une capitale internationale de la mode. En se basant sur les théories économiques évolutionnaires de path‐dependence, il affirme que la spécialisation initiale de New York dans le prêt‐à‐porter a modelé son évolution ultérieure vers une industrie de masse. Parallèlement, il montre toutefois comment des acteurs institutionnels clés ont modifié le cap de l'expansion industrielle à des moments historiques cruciaux en encourageant leurs talents de création locaux. Ce faisant, l'étude de la suprématie new‐yorkaise en tant que centre international de la mode défie l'interprétation dominante de la ‘dépendance de sentier’ dans la théorie et la pratique du développement régional. En effet, elle soutient que les secteurs d'activité ne sont pas prisonniers des choix passés, et illustre comment les origines d'une industrie peuvent influencer sa trajectoire d'expansion économique sans la déterminer irrésistiblement.     

苏州与温州区域经济国际化的比较分析

改革开放以来,我国东部沿海地区由于具有临海的区位优势,把握住了全球化时代所带来的机遇,走出了各具特色的区域经济国际化道路,其中苏州和温州的国际化模式独具特色。苏州模式和温州模式对研究我国其他地区在经济全球化中如何走国际化道路的问题,具有重大参考价值和分析价值。文章从内向、外向国际化的角度对苏州国际化、温州国际化模式进行比较分析,探讨不同国际化路径的差异,并为区域经济发展提供依据。     

Testing the convergence hypothesis: a longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of the world trade web through social network and statistical analyses

Different theoretical perspectives support opposite views on convergence: although the dominant view is that convergence is the inevitable outcome of globalization, divergentists (that is, world-system economists and, potentially, also evolutionary geographic ones) argue that convergence forces could be annihilated by the need to keep power relationships within the international division of labor. Even when limiting the convergence issue to international trade, the debate has so far been inconclusive, because various studies have dealt with different and/or short time series or selected too small and different sets of countries. Moreover, none of these studies have analyzed trade patterns and have instead been limited to the aggregate value. Here, through a social network analysis, we examine the world trade patterns from 1980 to 2016 (1980–1992, 1993–2007 and 2008–2016) of at least 164 countries, which have been divided into import and export patterns and into four groups of countries: from core countries to far periphery ones. We test the convergence hypothesis in two directions: the level and trend of convergence, and its possible determination by means of structural or economic globalization, measured in terms of exchanges density and economic values, respectively. We have found that the convergence hypothesis only seems to be confirmed when considering the pure structural aspect and core countries. Conversely, economic convergence—which also includes the structural dimension—has been found to be high for core countries and to increase over time. Moreover, our analysis shows that economic globalization influences convergence, albeit in a strongly negative way. Therefore, our findings seem to support divergentists and the convergence hypothesis should be rejected.

     

基于土地生态演替的区域生态格局构建

城市生态建设应采取主动的生态修复与建设措施,积极打造适应区域生态循环和演替过程的生态格局,从而增强生态系统自身稳定性,提高其相应生态服务功能。根据对以往生态格局规划案例的总结发现,现有规划模式对土地的动态变化考虑不足,对主导土地自然演替规律的区域综合自然地理过程缺少分析,因而构建的生态格局体系可能存在着生态稳定性差、绩效成本高的问题。本文针对这一问题,以河南省汝州市王寨工业集聚区规划为例,通过推断土地的自然演替规律,结合土地利用现状数据,对区域的生态适宜性进行评价,以期在适应区域土地演替规律的基础上,构建区域生态格局。