The Geography of the World Economy: An Introduction to Economic Geography by PaulKnox; John AgnewReview by: Michael BradshawArea, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Mar., 2000), pp. 126-127Published by: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20004046 .

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126 Book reviews

Economics and Utopia: why the learning economy is not the end of history by Geoffrey M Hodgson

London: Routledge, 1999, xix+337pp, ?55.00 hardback, ?16.99 paperback ISBN 0 415 07506 8 hardback, ISBN 0 415 19685 X paperback

Over the last 10-15 years, political economy has lost its former place at the forefront of social theory, and this has been reflected in economic geography, where critical analyses of capitalist uneven development have given way to hopeful accounts of 'learning regions' and the like.

Though political economy might be said to be resting rather than dead, there have recently been only a few prac titioners who are doing anything innovative, and Geoff

Hodgson is perhaps the outstanding example. His intellec tual project has been nothing less than to find a new way of doing political economy, one that takes institutions seri ously, and treats economies as dynamic, open and evolu tionary. At the same time he attempts to retain insights forgotten or ignored by mainstream economics, from diverse theorists such as Marx, Veblen, Schumpeter and Hayek.

The Utopian ideas reviewed are not only those of socialists but of the market individualists of the right, both of

which are found wanting for similar reasons, the main one being their belief in the possibility of 'pure' economies dominated by a single type of system, whether planning or markets. Here Hodgson develops an idea introduced in his earlier work, concerning the necessity of 'impurities' in economic systems; thus markets need regulation and state support, while central planning cannot dispense wholly

with markets. Although in many ways these organizational forms are opposed, at the limit they need each other. The impurities are necessary for the successful operation of economic mechanisms; for example, an employment con tract is unlikely to work unless non-contractual impurities of trust and loyalty can be activated. Markets and hierarchies are therefore not to be seen simply in opposition: 'the spectacular historic success of this symbiotic combination of dissimilars [external price-oriented exchange and internal organization] place both the market individualists and the socialist opponents of the market, in theoretical difficulties' (88). Market theorists overlook the ways in which actors have to learn and share information via non-market routes in order to act in markets; advocates of socialist planning grossly underestimate learning and the uncentralizable specialist knowledge dispersed across populations.

As the subtitle hints, Hodgson's critiques of the socialist and liberal Utopians link to recent interests in knowledge, information and 'learning economies'. The book provides a valuable assessment of the preconditions and conse quences of an information economy-much more sober and concise, for example, than that of Castells (1996). Knowledge and information threaten private property and exchange, and fit awkwardly with capitalist social relations of production, especially within neoliberal regimes, since

they require democracy, trust and open dialogue, and evaluation according to criteria other than profitability. However, Hodgson does not see knowledge as the only engine of economic growth, and, given the openness of social systems, he sees nothing inevitable about the rise of a learning economy: the future is to be made rather than predicted.

Besides making many important conceptual and techni cal points, Hodgson follows past theorists such as Hume, Smith, Mill, Veblen, Polanyi and Keynes in defending a broad conception of political economy in which economic action has to be understood and evaluated within a wider moral social order, and in which economic motives are not entirely reducible to matters of individual preference. The implication of the principle of impurity is that we cannot expect to place our hopes in single forms of economic organization, but need to assess the feasibility, desirability and interdependencies of a diverse mix of forms and note their implications for the wider social order in order to ameliorate existing economies. On the way to this conclu sion, Hodgson develops many other more limited but important themes, the most noteworthy of which is perhaps his analysis of the diversity of 'actually existing' markets and other forms of economic exchange, and the consequent need to make their evaluation conditional upon identifying the particular kinds in question, instead of invoking idealized models.

Economics and Utopia is well-written, accessible and consistently engaging. Although it does not address the matter of space and economies, it is a must for any economic geographer wanting to keep abreast of progress in political economic thought.

Andrew Sayer Lancaster University

Reference

Castells M (1996) The rise of the network society (Blackwell, Oxford)

The geography of the world economy: an introduction to economic geography. 3rd edition by Paul Knox and John Agnew London: Arnold, 1998, x+420 pp, ?18.99 paperback ISBN 0 340 70612 0

This is the third edition of this textbook in nine years. The first, published in 1989, was produced in a small format that

made the diagrams impossible to read and the text too dense to penetrate. The second, published in 1994, adopted a larger format, but its excessive margins still resulted in a cramped look. The third has finally got the presentation right. Thus, the book has gone from being a bit of a lemon to essential reading for students of economic geography. If the revision between the first and second edition was a major model change, then the third edition is

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Book reviews 127

a much-needed facelift to a now successful model. In the current context of tightened copyright regulations, the question I have set myself in this review is: could I base a course around this book, setting it as a required text?

The subtitle of the book is 'An introduction to economic geography'. This is not a first-year text, more likely a text for a second-year option in economic geography that would lead to more specialized courses in the third year. The book is divided into four major sections. The first presents the theoretical framework employed to navigate the geography of the world economy; describes global trends and patterns of economic activity; and, finally, considers the history of the world economy. The framework adopted is that of

world-systems theory linked to longwaves and key techno logical changes, and produces a threefold division of the

world: core, semi-periphery and periphery. The adoption of such an approach may dissuade many from using this as a text, as it would be difficult to assign this book and then not adopt a similar approach in lectures.

Having set the scene theoretically, the following two sections examine the core and periphery in turn. Each section examines the key processes shaping their economic geography and how those processes have changed over time. This dynamic component to explanation is a major strength of the book. Particular attention is paid to inter national trade and globalization. A whole chapter is devoted to case studies in the core section, while brief cameos are scattered throughout the section on the periph ery. The latter are rather piecemeal and far less satisfactory. The balance of coverage is also skewed towards the core economies, and the periphery is discussed primarily in terms of its relation to these. Even more problematic is what happens to the semi-periphery. As this is comprised of economies that possess both core and periphery processes, it is perhaps acceptable that some of the semi-periphery is dealt with in the core section (the Soviet Union) and some in the sections on the periphery (the NICs). However, I

would much prefer a separate section on the semi periphery. The economies in this category are some of the most dynamic, and it is noteworthy that they have been in crisis of late. No doubt the authors are already thinking about the fourth edition and including the Asian and Russian crises (at present the section on the Soviet Union is horribly dated), as these events would seem to demand a separate section on the semi-periphery. Such a section

would also provide a better platform for specialized regional courses in the final year of a geography curriculum.

The final substantive section examines adjustments to the new global economy; how states and regions have risen to the challenges of globalization. Two issues are consid ered: transnational integration and the rise of regionalism. The integration chapter is a successful summary of a complex set of issues. The regionalism chapter is less successful and could be dropped, as many of the issues, such as regional equality, are covered elsewhere in the book. A brief conclusion summarizes the main arguments that have been presented, stressing the dynamic and

evolutionary nature of the world economy and the central

ity of geographic variation; we are told that the world is not

'a closed isotropic plain governed by the same invariant determinants everywhere and always' (415).

In sum, this is a bold and ambitious text that covers the whole span of human history. The adoption of a world systems approach inevitably leads to a degree of Euro centrism and technological determinism, which the authors try to counter. They also try to inject sensitivity towards culture and issues of gender and identity. The reality is that they are trying to do too much and satisfy too many constituencies. That said, the text provides an excellent guide to the wider literature, both geographic and non geographic, of the world economy. Each major section has summarizing bullet points and at the end of each chapter there is a summary of key issues. Finally, definitions of key terms are located in the margins and shown in bold in the index. All this adds up to a student-friendly text, and experience suggests that this is a book that students regularly consult and may even own.

But what of the lecturer, is this a book to base a course around? The answer is, possibly. If one dedicated two lectures to supporting each chapter, then 13-14 weeks

would be required to get through the book, and doubtless the evaluations would complain that there was too much

material. This may be manageable in the North American system with longer semesters, but I suspect that there is just too much to cram into one UK term. A better solution

might be a year-long course with this as one of two or even three texts. Much depends on the intent of the course. This is a book about the geography of the world economy, not (despite its subtitle) the evolution of economic geography as a subdiscipline. Thus, it could complement a systematic economic geography text or set of readings (or reader) that examines in more detail the various ways in which geogra phers have sought to explain the world economy. Alterna tively, the regional case studies could be fleshed out and examined in greater detail. This book could thus play a major role in a course on economic geography, but I doubt that few will be prepared to use it as the only textbook.

Michael Bradshaw University of Birmingham

Exploring contemporary migration by Paul Boyle, Keith Halfacree and Vaughan Robinson Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman, 1998, xiv+282 pp, ?19.99 paperback ISBN 0 582 25161 3

Movement is an intrinsic part of cultural and political geographies, but migration is a field of interest that has been rather cut off from recent theoretical debates in human geography. However, the authors of this book acknowledge that 'Migration is firmly embedded within the complexity of people's everyday lives and experiences' (1), and they attempt to connect migration studies to issues

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