Session Description:
At the same time that global poverty rates have made drastic declines and the global middle class has grown enormously, inequality within many countries has risen. New geographies of prosperity and opportunity appear to be related to skepticism toward global economic and cultural integration as well as populist politics throughout the world. While the United States has been one of the most visible examples of this shift, it appears to be a global phenomenon.
Global inequality is increasingly defined not only by differences between countries but also by those within them. The shifting dynamics of interpersonal inequality have distinct spatial manifestations within countries (inter-regionally) as well as within city regions (intra-regionally). Spatial inequality also appears to be related to political, cultural and social polarization, as well as disparities in equality of opportunity.
Economic geographers, among other social scientists, have made important contributions to our understanding of the dynamics of inequality in recent years, yet we believe there is much more to contribute by broadening our perspective and incorporating complementary views from fields like population, urban and political geography as well as neighboring disciplines such as economics, international business and political science. It is our goal in these sessions to integrate these perspectives with a global lens. In particular, we are interested in developing discussion and debate that help us push our understanding of the dynamics of intra- and inter-regional inequality further. Potential topics include:
- How have intra- and inter-regional economic inequality evolved over time?
- What forces contribute to intra- and inter-regional economic inequality?
- How is economic inequality related to social, cultural or political polarization in spatial perspective?
- How does regional inequality vary along demographic axes such as gender, race, citizenship or others?
- How do new geographical expressions of inequality challenge extant theory and policy? How and why do the forces that drive inequality differ geographically?
- How do economic networks and institutions affect inter- and intra-regional inequality?
- What role can policy play in mitigating intra- and inter-regional economic inequality? And what kind of policies are needed?
We particularly welcome contributions that compare the dynamics of intra- and inter-regional inequality across countries or that focus on places outside North America and Western Europe. Subject to the quantity and quality of presentations, the organizers intend to develop a special issue in an established journal from the sessions.
If you are interested in participating in this discussion with a paper presentation please submit an abstract to Harald Bathelt (harald.bathelt@utoronto.ca), Maximilian Buchholz (max.buchholz@mail.utoronto.ca) and Michael Storper (m.storper@lse.ac.uk) for consideration.