Lecture 1 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE:

“ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY”

Nguyen Cong Thanh,

Department of Natural Resource and Environmental Economics
National Economics University
Tema 5 -SE Lecturer 2

• Nguyễn Công Thành

• Undergraduate – NEU;
Masters – Hiroshima University, Japan;
PhD – The University of Queensland, Australia.
• Head of Department, Department of Natural Resource and
Environmental Economics, NEU
• Contact details:
– Email: thanhnc@neu.edu.vn
– Phone: 0944 00 89 82
Tema 5 -SE Students’ Expectations 3

• Class Information
• Preferred communication methods/channels
MS Teams: Địa lý kinh tế TCTT64D
Facebook: Economic Geography TCTT64D 2022

• Questions and Expectations about Economic Geography

Tema 5 -SE Introduction to the Course 4

• Textbook
Coe, N., Kelly, P., Yeung, H.W.C., 2020.
Economic Geography: A Contemporary
Introduction. Third Edition. Wiley Publishing.
Tema 5 -SE Introduction to the Course 5

• Grading policy
10%: Attendance and participation

20%: Group project and presentation. The class will be divided into 12 groups.
Each group should make a group effort to present and discuss about one
assigned chapter of the textbook (2020).

20%: Written Assignment. In each session of group presentations, each member of

commenting group (not making presentation) will be assigned to prepare
written questions and comments for the discussion about the presented topic.
The written assignment should be at least one A4-page. It must address the
main question: Why the questions/issues are important in the context of
economic geography (i.e. 3 questions in Slide 35)?

50%: Final exam

Tema 5 -SE Introduction to the Course 6

• Schedule

Weeks Activity Topics Presenting Commenting

Group Group
1-3 Lectures + Introduction to the Course
+ Key concepts and theories
+ Preparation for group
presentations
4 - 15 Presentations Chapter 3 - 14 1 – 12 12 – 1
Tema 5 -SE Groups 7

• Presentation schedule
Week Date Topics Presenting Commenting
Group Group
4 17-Nov-22 Chapter 3 1 12
5 24-Nov-22 Chapter 4 2 11
6 1-Dec-22 Chapter 5 3 10
7 8-Dec-22 Chapter 6 4 9
8 15-Dec-22 Chapter 7 5 8
9 22-Dec-22 Chapter 8 6 7
10 29-Dec-22 Chapter 9 7 6
11 5-Jan-23 Chapter 10 8 5
12 12-Jan-23 Chapter 11 9 4
13 2-Feb-23 Chapter 12 10 3
14 9-Feb-23 Chapter 13 11 2
15 16-Feb-23 Chapter 14 12 1
Tema 5 -SE Groups 8

• Group members

Group Members Phone Email

1 (Chapter 3)

…
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Thinking geographically

Coordinate system
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Thinking geographically
– An global map:
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Achievements related to Economic Geography

– “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies” (previously titled Guns,
Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years), Jared
Diamond, 1997.
• In 1998, the book won the Pulitzer Prize, and the Aventis prize.
• In 2005, a documentary film based on the book was introduced by the National
Geographic Society, link on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgGw8kZnJxE

– Paul Krugman, 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics with 3 important works that help
clarify the relationship between "Trade" and "Geography“
• Increasing Returns, Monopolistic Competition and International Trade, Journal of
International Economics, volume 9, p. 469 - 479, 1979
• Scale Economies, Product Differentiation, and the Pattern of Trade, American
Economic Review, volume 70, p. 950 - 959, 1980
• Increasing Returns and Economic Geography, Journal of Political Economy, volume
99, p. 483 - 499, 1991
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Example of economic-geographical issues:

Uneven development in the global economy: Facts and Figures
– Uneven distribution of economic activity: 50% of global GDP today is produced
on just 1.5% of the world’s land (aprox: Algeria).
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Uneven development in the global economy: Facts and Figures

– Uneven distribution of GDP per capita

13
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Uneven development in the global economy: Naturally?

– The Gobal North and the Global South

14
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Uneven development in the global economy: Naturally?
– Uneven distribution of natural resources: Oil

15
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Uneven development in the global economy: Naturally?
– Uneven distribution of natural resources: Gas

16
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Uneven development in the global economy: Naturally?
– Uneven distribution of natural resources: Coal

17
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Uneven development in the global economy: Naturally?
– Uneven distribution of natural resources: Coal

18
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Example of economic-geographical issues:
– At the national level, economic activities are also concentrated in a few places

19
(Source: World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography)
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Example of economic-geographical issues:
– At the national level, economic activities are also concentrated in a few places

(Source: World Development Report 2009:

20
Reshaping Economic Geography)
 Does geography matter for economic development
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• Example of economic-geographical issues:
– At the national level, economic activities are also concentrated in a few places

(Source: China’s emerging city rankings 2022,

EIU REPORT,
https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/china-
emerging-city-rankings-2022/
 Does geography matter for economic development
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Example of economic-geographical issues: Locational analysis of

businesses
• Locations close to markets have a natural advantage.
• China company allocation: international vs local industries. Exporting industries
concentrate in coastal areas to minimize distance to the global market
Does geography matter for
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economic development
Example of economic-
geographical issues:
Locational analysis of
businesses

• In 2005, just 500,000 Chinese

emigrated abroad, while more
than 150 million people moved
internally in China despite
restrictions (“Hukou” system).
• Chinese workers from inner
regions have massively moved
to the coast (exporting regions).
 Does geography matter for economic development
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Video: Geography and Economic Growth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8z6XS2jieE&list=PLGcuCGeoNgAFRl
NNbI38WIRpm0L7syB9R&index=4
 Economic Geography in the era of globalization
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• The age of globalisation: the end of geography?

– Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have ‘space-shrinking’
effects and will bring about the ‘death of distance’.
– The application of ICTs in financial institutions will allow money to be moved
around the globe without constraints.
• There is no economic activity out there, floating in the atmosphere, detached from the
lived reality.
• The economy is a set of grounded, real-world processes with a set of complex social
relations that vary enormously across, and because of, geographical space.
• In the era of globalization, the focus of economic geography has been extended from
national scale to macro-regional and global scales.
• As economic activities are increasingly internationalised, interconnections and
competition between various places increase, and the uneven development is clearer.
• Economic Geography is more important to “help us appreciate and understand the
modern economic world in all its complexity” (Coe et al., 2007, Preface, p.xviii)
 Economic Geography in the era of globalization
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• Geographical aspects of economic activities: Facebook

– Facebook is an economic phenomenon: 3,000 employees and sales of around
US$4 billion in 2011.
– Facebook represents an economic tool used by other businesses to reach and
connect with clients and customers (both as a networking device and as a venue
for advertising).
– Facebook also provides a platform on which software developers are creating
software applications.
 Economic Geography in the era of globalization
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• Geographical aspects of economic activities: Social Networks

Source: https://vincos.it/world-map-of-social-networks/
 Economic Geography in the era of globalization
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• Geographical aspects of economic activities: Facebook

– The ads that users see on their Facebook pages will generally be those
relating to services or products in their immediate geographical area.
– Many advertisers (restaurants, shops…) are ultimately more interested in
reaching people who are nearby.
– To get almost instantaneous connections, the location of computer servers
(where data are scored and processed) should be closer to the areas they
serve. Some requirements for the location of computer servers: near a
cheap supply of electricity, in cool weather areas to reduce cost of cooling
system, in areas having very good connectivity to the internet.
 Economic Geography in the era of globalization
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• Geographical aspects of economic activities:

Pokemon Go
– Pokemon Go was released in July 2016, has been
downloaded by more than 100 million people worldwide.
 Economic Geography in the era of globalization
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• Geographical aspects of economic activities:

Pokemon Go
– Pokémon Go that applies “augmented reality technology”, uses
players’ locations in the real world to decide which Pokémon
appear around the players. For example, if you go out to a park,
you’ll probably see more grass- or bug-type Pokémon. If you go
near a lake or ocean, you’ll be able to pick up more water types.
And if you go out at night, you'll see more nocturnal (night) fairy
and ghost types.
– PokéStops, where players can get game supplies (Poké Balls,
portions and eggs), are essentially notable locations in the real
world.
– Number of PokéStops in big cities (city centres) is larger than in
small cities (outside of city centres)
– Businesses near PokéStops, especially with lure modules making
the stops glow pink to lure extra Pokémon, might attract more
customers who are Pokémon Go players
 Economic Geography in the era of globalization
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• Geographical aspects of economic activities: HSBC Bank

– Headquartered in London, HSBC (HongKong and Shanghai Banking Corporation)
is one of the world’s top ten banking and financial services groups, operating a
global business network of over 9,700 offices in 77 countries.
– HSBC is the first foreign bank in Vietnam

– The slogan of HSBC indicates that even operating in the global scale, the bank’s
financial products and services should be designed suitably for local people
living in a specifically geographical region.
 Economic Geography in the era of globalization
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• Geographical aspects of economic activities: Grab, Gojek, Baemin…

– Delivery apps need access to locations of customers in order to offer choices of
businesses close to customers
– Delivery apps is also more popular in big cities when comparing with rural areas
 Economic Geography in the era of globalization
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• Geographical aspects of economic activities: Marine Traffic

– Map of global shipping density

Source: http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-world-map-of-shipping-traffic.html

Realtime map of marine traffic: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:31.3/centery:6.0/zoom:3

Realtime map of air traffic: https://www.flightradar24.com/21.23,-16.86/3
Tema 5 -SE What is economic geography 34

• Economic geography is a sub-discipline that uses a geographical

approach to study the economy
• Its name would suggest that economic geography lies somewhere
between, or at the overlap of, the disciplines of geography and
economics.
Tema 5 -SE What is economic geography 35

• Economic geographers are interested in three interconnected questions:

1. In what ways are economic activities organised
spatially on the earth’s surface, and how do such
spatial forms or patterns change over time?

•1 2. Why are economic activities organised

spatially in particular ways; that is, what
are the underlying processes at work?

•3 •2
3. How does the spatial organisation of
economic activities itself influence
economic and other social processes?
Tema 5 -SE What is economic geography 36

• Compared with economics, some key differences in economic

geography:
– What? How? For whom? Where?
– Consider geography essential to an understanding of how economies work;
Geography is inherently present in all economic processes.
– Thus, 'the economy has geographical shape and distribution'
– If all economic processes had a geographical dimension, it would be hard to
imagine that economic principle would apply equally everywhere.
– Behavior of economic agents can be influenced by their gender, race, age, class,
religion, culture, health which may be related to their geographical location.
• Economic geography is a dynamic (changing over time) and
continuously evolving sub-discipline composed of a diverse set of
approaches and concepts.
Tema 5 -SE Introduction to the Course 37

• Objectives
It is expected that a student completing this course will be able to:
– Recognize the significance of economic geography in analyzing contemporary
societies and economies.
– Have a comprehensive understanding of basic concepts, key actors and key
theoretical approaches in economic geography
– Be able to assess how society and economic actors organize themselves in space,
the factors driving these complex spatial patterns, and the implications these
spatial configurations have for the socio-economic well-being of affected groups
and societies in the context of economic globalization.
– Appreciate the complexity of economic development processes taking place
across the world and how these are influenced by space.
– Relate the course contents to current economic, social, and political events, and
identify some of the geographical trends in economic processes and likely
outcomes for societies.