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Final Call for Papers: RGS-IBG Annual Conference London 28-30th Aug 2013 Session Title: Advancing the understanding of regional economic adaptability Organizers: Xiaohui Hu (Dept. of Geography, University of Kiel, Germany) Robert Hassink (Dept. of Geography, University of Kiel, Germany) Call for abstracts A new wave of interest in economic geography has been focusing on why some regional economies manage to renew themselves while others remain unable to adapt in an increasingly globalizing and uncertain world (Simmie and Martin 2010). Current theoretical and empirical work on this topic draws on a large variety of concepts, such as resilience, adaptive cycles, path dependence, lock-in and some other related concepts from institutional and relational perspective. However, since most of these studies work with a single conceptual lens, the understanding of the complex processes and mechanisms of regional adaptation still remain unclear. Martin (2012)'s recent work shows that using a integrated way that combines the resilience concept with the adaptive life cycle model can contribute to a better understanding of how some regional economies adapt much better than others. Moreover, drawing upon the viewpoint of Barnes and Sheppard (2010) on 'engaged pluralism' in economic geography, the understanding of unevenness of regional economic adaptability can be advanced and renewed by incorporating relational and institutional perspectives (Hassink and Klaerding 2012). Therefore, the aim of this session is to encourage a comprehensive and transdisciplinary perspective on changing industrial dynamics and economic adaptability in a regional context. Since the difference in regional economic adaptability is not only related to the spatially heterogeneous actions of economic agents, but also associated with different versions of national political structures and capitalism that are preconditioned by the past. This session particularly welcomes abstracts combining the evolutionary economic geography approach with other related paradigms, and presenting varied and new methodologies. It also welcomes abstracts on different types of regions, such as old industrial areas, resource peripheries, and high-tech regions. We welcome both empirical, theoretical, as well as policy-related abstracts which can improve the understanding of regional adaptability and launch new research agendas for the future. Potential research topics include: - resilience, path dependence, lock-in, path creation, path plasticity, adaptive life cycles and co-evolution in relation to regional economic adaptability and place-specific histories. - related variety, unrelated variety, transversality and technology platform and their role in enabling and constraining the adaptive capacities of different regions. - multi-scaled institutional elements (e.g. the role of the state, political arrangements and policies) that go beyond the narrow focus on firm and organizational institutions in affecting regional economic adaptability. - micro actors and their boarder social, political and economic linkages and their influences on economic renewal or hindrance. - integrative adaptability studies concepts incorporating global production networks, comparative political science and economic sociology into evolutionary economic geography. References Barnes, T.J. and Sheppard, E. (2010) 'Nothing includes everything': towards engaged pluralism in Anglophone economic geography. Progress in Human Geography 34, 193-214. Hassink, R. & Klaerding, C. (2012) Theoretical advancement in economic geography by engaged pluralism. Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography # 12.02, Utrecht University. Martin, R. (2012) Regional Economic Resilience, Hysteresis and Recessionary Shocks, Journal of Economic Geography, 12(1), 1-32. Simmie, J. and Martin, R. (2010) The economic resilience of regions: towards an evolutionary approach, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 3(1), 27-43. Abstract Submission: If you would like to contribute to this session, please send your abstract of not more than 250 words to Xiaohui Hu ([email protected]) by Friday, 8 th February 2013.
