Economic Geography Glossary

The clustering of economic activities in a concentrated geographic area, driven by external economies.

The demand a firm creates for inputs from suppliers, stimulating upstream industries in a region.

A settlement that provides goods and services to a surrounding hinterland, as described in Christaller's theory.

The full sequence of activities involved in producing, processing, distributing, and retailing a commodity.

The ability to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than trading partners.

A dominant economic area that attracts capital, skilled labor, and industry, typically characterized by high wages and advanced technology.

The decline in manufacturing employment and output in a region or economy over time.

Income earned from a factor of production in excess of the minimum needed to keep it in its current use, often tied to locational advantages.

The sector of a regional economy that produces goods and services for sale outside the region, driving growth.

An industry with no strong locational ties to raw materials or markets, free to locate almost anywhere.

Investment by a firm in one country into productive capacity in another country.

The supply of outputs from one firm or industry to downstream industries, stimulating further economic activity.

The influx of higher-income residents into a lower-income neighborhood, raising property values and often displacing existing residents.

A model predicting trade flows between two places based on their economic sizes and the distance between them.

The area surrounding a central place that is served by and economically linked to that settlement.

A geographic concentration of interconnected companies, suppliers, and institutions in a particular industry.

The amplified impact of an initial economic stimulus as spending circulates through a regional economy.

The tendency for historical patterns and early decisions to constrain or shape future economic and spatial outcomes.

A dependent region that supplies raw materials and cheap labor to core regions, typically with lower wages and less advanced technology.

The difference between the current economic return from a piece of land and the potential return under a higher and better use, driving gentrification.

David Harvey's concept that capitalism resolves crises of overaccumulation by expanding into new geographic areas or restructuring existing spaces.

A designated area with relaxed tax and regulatory conditions designed to attract foreign investment.

The ratio of export prices to import prices for a country, indicating the purchasing power of its exports.

The systematic production of spatial inequalities in wealth and economic activity under capitalism.

Wallerstein's framework analyzing the global economy as a hierarchical system of core, semi-periphery, and periphery nations.