Geographies of knowledge, practices of globalization: learning from the oil exploration and production industry

In this paper we initiate a dialogue between work on the geographies of globalization and knowledge economies, areas of inquiry that have tended to develop in isolation. We argue for a critical harnessing of these two bodies of work to (1) understand how and where different types of knowledge are acquired, produced and mobilized by firms as they seek to 'go global', (2) map the multi-scalar geographies of knowledge that enable practices of globalization and (3) examine the ways in which networks of knowledge structure emerging geographies of production. We demonstrate the potential of this move using oil exploration and production as an example.     

Mapping the Globalization of the Temporary Staffing Industry*

Very little is currently known about the globalization of the temporary staffing industry, a strategically significant sector given its role in promulgating wider labor market flexibility. This article starts to rectify this research lacuna in four ways: by conceptualizing the international expansion of temporary staffing and comparing it to other business service sectors, by identifying and mapping the top twenty transnational staffing agencies, by offering a typology of the leading transnational agencies based on their functional and geographic characteristics, and by charting a research agenda for future work on this sector.     

Second-Hand Spaces: Restructuring Retail Geographies in an Era of E-Commerce

Are online markets replacing or remaking second-hand markets in cities? The restructuring of secondary markets in light of virtual outlets like eBay is not well understood. In this article, we describe secondary markets and their important historic, economic, cultural, and social roles in cities. The literature on e-Commerce suggests that virtual retailers compete with bricks-and-mortar stores and potentially displace them. We question whether the internet can substitute for second-hand stores, which have traditionally relied on a loyal and local customer base, personalized shopping experiences, and surprise encounters. Given the historically embedded nature of exchange, we focus on one large Mid-western city, drawing upon survey and interview data from Chicago retailers. Our exploration of supply, demand, and geographic practices reveals subtle and complex alterations in second-hand exchange, rather than a displacement of second-hand markets by eBay. We also find substantive integration, fluidity, and hybridization within and across market sectors. Rather than supplant the production of new goods, secondary markets are intertwined with and deepen primary markets, calling into question some of the presumed benefits of and meanings associated with second-hand exchange as well as the usefulness of categorical distinctions. [Key words: secondary markets, second-hand, resale, thrift, e-commerce, eBay.]     

Mining Migrants: Transnational Mining and Migration Patterns in the Peruvian Andes*

This article evaluates the linkages between transnational mining corporations and local migration dynamics in Peru. Changes in migration patterns in the Cajamarca region of Peru over the past decade are examined via a case study of the gold mining operations of Newmont Mining Corporation. The study considers household migration behavior in communities surrounding the mine as well as transformations in regional, national, and international migration patterns. Also examined are the temporal nature of these changing patterns across short, medium, and long‐term time periods.     

Western Investment in East-Central Europe: Emerging Patterns and Implications for State Stability*

Western investment and trade in East-Central Europe is likely to play a key role in the economic fortunes of the region over the next decade. Currently, the capital cities and the western parts of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary are the primary beneficiaries of economic interaction with the West. As such, existing regional inequalities are being reinforced. Deepening regional socioeconomic disparities within individual states could complicate the economic restructuring process and jeopardize state stability in the years ahead.     

新疆小城镇经济发展的投资趋向与重点研究

在分析国内外小城镇投资情况的基础上,重点对新疆146个小城镇投资情况进行了汇总、分析及典型调查研究,分析了新疆大部分小城镇的投资效益,指出了小城镇建设存在的问题。在此基础上提出了未来5年新疆小城镇经济发展投资的总体思路：以国家和自治区财政资金为引导资金,以市场为导向,结合小城镇各自的实际,吸引民间投资、银行贷款、国外投资等各种社会资金来促进小城镇产业的发展,形成新疆干旱区绿洲环境条件下具有地方民族特色的小城镇经济发展投资模式。并首次提出农、林、水、牧业投资与小城镇建设相结合的农业资金使用方法。     

新时期我国区域空间规划的方法论探讨——以"西部开发重点区域规划前期研究"为例

区域规划是大国进行空间管治不可或缺的层次和手段。随着跨区域性问题越来越突出和进一步市场化后国家宏观调控手段的变化,以新的视野和新的方法开展区域规划在我国已经十分迫切。本文分析了新时期进行区域空间规划需要考虑的因素,包括落实科学发展观、经济全球化和经济体制转型 (市场化) 等;通过阐述"点-轴系统"理论、全球化下的"城市区域"理论以及"人地关系地域系统"理论,分析了区域空间规划的理论基础;最后根据西部开发重点区域规划前期研究的工作经验,讨论了进行区域空间结构规划的一些具体方法。作者提出,需要把握现阶段我国社会经济发展的核心特征、并考虑有效可行的管治手段,以全球化视野和市场化思维考虑区域发展和规划问题。     

改革开放以来珠江三角洲区域 投资环境变化

通过对56家珠三角企业的调查,发现区位条件、政策法律、生产成本、基础设施水平和产业配套能力是影响企业发展的5个最主要的投资环境因素。基于此,文章构建了珠三角区域投资环境的评价指标体系,并采用层次分析法,分别针对珠三角劳动密集型产业和技术密集型产业的投资环境变化进行研究,结果显示：对劳动密集型产业而言,投资环境是有所弱化;对技术密集型产业而言,投资环境是有所改善。同时,从生产成本、区位条件、优惠政策和产业配套等方面对影响珠三角投资环境变化的原因进行了分析。最后,提出了推动产业升级、产业转移、加强“三旧”改造、实现区域一体化等改善投资环境和促进产业发展的建议。     

基于企业股权关联的城市网络研究 ——以长三角地区为例

选取全行业企业的投资数据,通过逐一计算海量企业股权联系的所有可能链接路径,提出了利用企业之间联系研究城市网络的新思路。对长三角地区进行实证研究,结果表明：有向网络中,上海、杭州与合肥是区域资本集散中心。其中,上海是整个区域的链接枢纽,对江苏的辐射影响尤为突出。无向网络中,上海与杭州的核心地位明显,但淮北、衢州等边缘性节点的网络层级也大幅提升。上海、杭州与合肥加速了整个区域的一体化进程,南京的网络地位有较大的提升空间。     

基础设施的私人投资对经济增长的实证研究——基于河南数据分析

采用河南省经济增长与私人投资的数据建立计量经济模型进行实证研究,运用协整理论探讨基础设施的私人投资对经济增长的影响,统计结果表明,私人对基础设施的投资与经济增长之间存在稳定的协整关系,二者互为因果关系,私人投资对经济增长的效率高于国有投资的效率.对国有投资、私人投资弹性偏小的原因进行分析;加大投资体制改革,转变政府职能,形成以政府宏观政策为引导的多元投资体系.     

Economic Opportunities and Internal Migration: A Case Study of Guangdong Province,China*

Economic opportunities are considered a primary determinant of human migration, but their explanatory power in Communist China has been limited because of strong government intervention in controlling migration and in planned population transfers. Since the late 1970s, however, economic reform has brought about changes in China's regional economies and generated new push and pull forces for migration, and the relaxation of migration restrictions has created greater opportunities for nongovernment-induced migration. Using data primarily from the 1990 census, I review the spatial patterns of migration and the characteristics of the new migrants. A case study of Guangdong Province reveals that its attractiveness to migrants from other provinces and its intra-provincial migration patterns are attributable to differentials in per capita output and foreign investment. The findings support the argument that China has entered a new era of migration in which present and expected economic opportunities are important explanations for the volume and directions of population movement.     

重庆市外商直接投资结构研究

在经过改革开放20多年利用外商直接投资的实践历程后,人们关注的重点已经由外商直接投资的数量转向了质量。分析和研究外商直接投资的结构将是判断外商直接投资质量的重要途径之一。文章对重庆市利用外商直接投资的基本特征和地位进行了总结,并对外商直接投资的结构从5个方面进行了研究。在此基础上,提出了重庆市今后进一步积极、合理和有效地利用外商直接投资的对策建议。     

Employing SWOT Analysis in Coursework on the Geographies of Regional Economic Development and Trade

Abstract

The use of SWOT analysis is a means through which geography students can investigate key concepts in economic geography and essential topics in regional economic development. This article discusses the results of a course project where economic geography students employed SWOT analysis to explore medium-sized metropolitan areas across the southern United States and their suitability for export-led development. The results suggest that students were able to critically evaluate these urban regions and their potential for integration into the global economy. This case also intimates that the SWOT concept could be applied to other situations and regions in geography coursework.     

中国地级煤炭城市经济运行机制及路径分析

建立指标评价体系，采用多种定量方法，对中国地级煤炭城市经济运行机制和路径进行了分析比较。研究显示：①资金投入产出转换能力因子、从业人员投入与城市基础设施保障因子和城市职能与城市环境改善因子是地级煤炭城市经济运行的三大宏观机制，且它们的贡献度依次降低，由此得出11项重点控制指标。②地级煤炭城市经济运行总体水平并不太高，且呈现不平衡的发展趋势，其演进有着独特的劣化顺序。     

Firm entry modes and Chinese business networks: Malaysian investments in Vietnam

This paper examines the Malaysian Chinese firms that have expanded into Vietnam. Based on research and qualitative personal interviews with Malaysian Chinese firms that have invested in Vietnam, the paper unpacks the entry modes that these firms have undertaken. It argues that the Malaysian Chinese firms prefer joint ventures in their Vietnamese businesses to wholly‐owned subsidiaries and personal direct investments. This paper also argues that such investments are often embedded in social and intraethnic ties, which connect Malaysian Chinese firms with Vietnam's ethnic Chinese businessmen. To this end, these firms tend to rely on informal ties and nonmarket institutions in the form of the ethnic Chinese business networks. Nevertheless, the Malaysian Chinese firms are not averse to collaborating with nonethnic Chinese firms that enjoy a good relationship with the Vietnamese state. This observation is especially marked in the property and construction, and finance sectors.     

经济全球化背景下的苏州城市化发展模式

本文简要论述了探讨东部沿海发达地区城市化发展模式的重要意义,深入分析苏州城市化发展进程中存在的问题及其经济、政策成因,提出城市化发展模式的择定原则,并阐明经济全球化背景下城市化发展动力的结构性变化,指出苏州应采取分而亲集型城市化发展模式,以期对东部沿海地区推进城市化发展有所裨益。     

The State and Civil Society: Transition and Prospects of Labour Geographies in an Era of Economic Globalisation in Nigeria and South Africa

This paper seeks to provide a comparative analysis of the role of labour movements in democratisation during two very different political transitions in Nigeria and South Africa and in the context of globalisation and neoliberal hegemony. First, Nigeria is examined as an example of authoritarian rollback and containment of pro-democracy movements in an economy heavily conditioned by interventions from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Second, South Africa is discussed as a case of home-grown structural adjustment or gradual neoliberal shift in macroeconomic policies without relevant external interventions. The paper compares the failure of past Nigerian democratisation with the problems and issues arising after the first successful democratic electoral change in South Africa. Labour is analysed by focusing on its relationships with a set of organisations, institutions and regulated behaviours, and the broader concept of labour movement in its plurality of forms of identity, militancy and organisation. The argument of this paper is that the neoliberal discourse, with or without overt political authoritarianism, involves a narrowing of spaces for institutionalising the progressive role of labour in civil society. In the Nigerian case, this process leads to grassroots' demand for a significant radicalisation of trade union strategies, while the possibilities and constraints for such an outcome in the South African case are explored in relation to the crisis of corporatist solutions. The paper concludes that the impact of labour is the single most important factor in the establishment of democracy through alliance with other social forces. At the same time, this conclusion cautions with the contradictory nature of pressures placed on organised labour.     

经济全球化与中国中西部地区开发

经济全球化对世界经济空间格局产生了深远的影响，区域经济一体化作为全球化的现阶段实现形式，对我国东、中、西部产业空间布局及区域发展战略调整，特别是对我国中西部地区开放与开发，参与区域经济分工与合作，促进我国经济东，中，西部经济协调发展具有十分重要的指导意义。     

全球对外直接投资的新特点

投资自由是经济全球化的重要动力机制,随着世界经济全球化程度不断加深,对外直接投资（ＦＤＩ）出现了许多新特点,以资源优化配置带动的ＦＤＩ迅猛发展,跨国公司的生产经营和研究开发活动日益全球化,企业的跨国并购加剧,本文运用翔实的资料,对全球ＦＤＩ的新特点进行了分析研究。