This is the sequel to the first highly successful
Global Conference on Economic Geography held in Singapore, 5-9 December 2000 (see
special photo album).
With almost 200 academic participants from 30 countries, the Singapore
conference was significant in spurring on economic-geographical
dialogue in a sustained manner worldwide. Some 150 high quality papers
were presented and the conference resulted in two special issues in
leading geographical journals (see
JEG 2001,
E&PA 2002, and Olds' editorial in
E&PD
2001), as well as numerous other articles, chapters, and reports. In
the context of the globalization of knowledge production and research
activity, a global dialogue in economic geography continues to be
highly important, for it facilitates the development of knowledge, and
the establishment of international collaborative relations for both
teaching and research. Such dialogue in a dedicated conference also
requires economic geographers to face head on the complex issues of
vantage points and ethnocentric biases, as evident in the intellectual
interactions during the Singapore conference. Field trips organized in
Beijing and elsewhere in China during the conference will enable
participants to collect teaching materials (case studies, digital
photos, etc) and to investigate possibilities for future research
projects.
Six years have now lapsed since the
Singapore conference. The global economy has experienced tremendous
transformations since the late 1990s. For one, it witnesses much
stronger integration of cross-border economic activities. The rise of
emerging economies, particularly China and India, has significant
economic-geographical implications. The continual economic integration
within the European Union and the North America Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) requires new research insights from economic geographers. At
the more micro-scale, economic geographies are much more implicated in
our everyday life, from our consumption practices and productive work
to our activities in labour and financial markets. We believe the
timing is now appropriate for a second global conference on economic geography.
As one of the key sub-disciplines in Geography, it is time to discuss
and debate current and new research agendas in economic geography. It
is also a critical time to continue our rethinking of the relationship
between the sub-discipline (within human geography) and the wider
social science community.
In organizing this second global conference on economic geography, we have three specific objectives:
1.
The conference will provide a forum for constructive cross-regional
dialogue among economic geographers from all regions and countries.
Such dialogue is critical for the advancement of the subject.
2.
The conference will provide an opportunity for economic geographers
from outside Asia to interact with geographers and other interested
social scientists from within the host region. While acknowledging the
Anglo-American influence in much of the recent work in economic
geography, we recognize that there is a considerable stock of knowledge
in the Asian region that contributes to our understanding of regional
and global economic geographies. In short, the conference will enhance
the global interdependence of networks of economic geographers.
3.
The conference and its associated activities will enable economic
geographers from outside the Asian region to experience (first-hand)
the dynamics of economic transformations in China and East Asia.
Through carefully designed field trips, both within and outside of
Beijing, the capital city of China, the conference will offer
insightful educational experiences that can be brought home for the
benefits of students and institutions, similar to those available
during the Singapore conference in 2000.
Second Global Conference on Economic Geography | Themes | Format & Schedule | Organizers | Conference Setting | Registration & Fieldtrips | Accommodation | Enquiries
Latest information at the Conference Website.