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| THE THEORETICAL FUNDAMENTALS OF EVOLUTIONARY ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY AND ITS APPLICATION INTO CLUSTER RESEARCH |
| WANG Zhou-yang1, HU Xiao-hui1,2, MA Mu-lan2 |
1. Department of Urban and Regional Economics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China;
2. Department of Economic Geography, University of Kiel, Kiel 124118, Germany |
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Abstract In the past decade,an ‘evolutionary turn’ has been taking place in the field of economic geography.The main aim of evolutionary economic geography is seeking to understand the evolutionary process of economic landscape,such as the geographies of technological progress,dynamic competitive advantage,economic restructuring,and economic growth.The micro-level perspective indicates how the routines of firms and their locational behaviors shape the evolutionary processes and spatial structures of the clusters;The meso-level perspective analyzes the structures and configurations of knowledge networks,the inter-firm knowledge relationships and the evolution of networks;The marco-level perspective investigates the evolutionary trajectories and the systematic dynamics of clusters,emphasizing the interactions between clusters and relevant environments.However,since the theoretical and methodological development of evolutionary economic geography is still in the stage of infancy,the application into cluster research is not unproblematic.In the context of Chinese transitional economy,we argue for the ‘evolutionary turn’ of cluster research,and propose some new research agendas for advancing the research on Chinese clusters.On the one hand,we need utilize the theories of evolutionary economic geography to explore the development processes and dynamics of different types of clusters in China,in order to examine the applicability of western theories in the context of China;on the other,we claim for the development of Chinese-characterized evolutionary economic geography,and the construction of theoretical framework of cluster evolution in China.
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Received: 12 February 2012
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2013, Vol. 28 
