ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

 

REGIONAL INCOME INEQUALITY

One of the main areas of concern is the distribution of income across nations or smaller areas within the nation, which often take the form of an analysis of distribution across territories. For example, Le Gallo and Etur (2003), analyze the per capita GDP of European countries and consider the evidence for regional clustering. Regional economic differences occur at many geographic scales and may persist over time in spite of effort for more equitable development.

CITY AND FIRM LOCATION

One area of interest in the sphere of regional economic development is how major corporate headquarters are positioned across a country. Meyer and Green (2003) provide an example of an analysis of spatial position that considers the extent to which headquarters are clustered in Canada. Similarly Elzahrany (2004) analyzes the position of major cities throughout Saudi Arabia. These spatial patterns may have social justice implications related to the distribution of resources or employment. Meyer and Green additionally consider some characteristics of the places in which headquarters are located, adding aspects of the analysis of distributions.

TRADE AND COMMODITY FLOWS

Spatial inequality can arise from how different steps in the production of commodities are distributed geographically. On are of focus has been on contrasts between areas of resource extraction, industrial production, and advanced services. The degree of specialization on particular industries may also affect levels of economic development in ways that are relevant to spatial justice.