Thierry Mayer – författare

Economic Geography is the most complete, up-to-date textbook available on the important new field of spatial economics. This book fills a gap by providing advanced undergraduate and graduate students with the latest research and methodologies in an accessible and comprehensive way. It is an indispensable reference for researchers in economic geography, regional and urban economics, international trade, and applied econometrics, and can serve as a resource for economists in government. Economic Geography presents advances in economic theory that explain why, despite the increasing mobility of commodities, ideas, and people, the diffusion of economic activity is very unequal and remains agglomerated in a limited number of spatial entities. The book complements theoretical analysis with detailed discussions of the empirics of the economics of agglomeration, offering a mix of theoretical and empirical research that gives a unique perspective on spatial disparities. It reveals how location continues to matter for trade and economic development, yet how economic integration is transforming the global economy into an economic space in which activities are performed within large metropolitan areas exchanging goods, skills, and information. Economic Geography examines the future implications of this evolution in the spatial economy and relates them to other major social and economic trends.

Giving insight into the direction that future research should take, this book contains state-of-the-art papers on both theoretical and empirical levels. This original collection makes a particularly important contribution to our understanding of the existence and impact of home market effects.

Introducing a welcome synthesis between two related and yet rarely integrated areas of study using case studies of firms in Europe, US MNEs and the Mexican automobile industry, this book will be welcomed by both academic and practising economists. Regional scientists and economists, and those with a specific interest in international trade issues will also find the book enlightening.

Le 12 juillet 2005, le gouvernement a labellisé 67 « pôles de compétitivité » ? ou clusters. Ils sont aujourd?hui au nombre de 71. La politique d?aménagement du territoire est passée d?une intervention publique destinée à aider les régions en difficulté à une politique visant à encourager les plus dynamiques. Un objectif d?efficacité s?est ainsi substitué à un objectif d?équité. Sur quoi se fonde-t-il ? Sur l?idée que le regroupement des activités de production et de recherche permet d?améliorer la productivité des entreprises. Les clusters, pourtant, ne se décrètent pas, car ils obéissent à des mécanismes complexes.À contre-courant de l?enthousiasme que suscite le soutien aux clusters, cette étude montre qu?une telle politique peut en réalité avoir des effets négatifs : une trop grande spécialisation rend les régions tributaires du destin d?un secteur, en particulier lorsque les travailleurs sont peu mobiles ? comme c?est le cas en France.