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Spatial integration and the geography of production

Περιλήψεις συνεδρίου

• Καυκαλάς, Γρηγόρης

This paper is about the multiple forms of interaction between locational decisions and the prospects of regional growth and selfreliance. Here the major concern refers to what might be properly called the "geography of production". This concern, however is not expressed through the empirical study of individual firms or of particular territorial units in isolation from the wider international context. Instead, the paper proposes the use of a set of intermediate concepir, built around the central concept of "spatial integration". "Functional" forms of integration correspond to the formation of branch-circuits at the international level and refer to the degree of institutional control over the means of production exercised by capital. "Territorial" forms of integration refer to the conditions of local control over the means of production within a specific area."Spatial" integration refers to the complex web of the overlapping relationships between the above forms and allows the analysis of the integration/disintegration process occuring on the basis of the existing and changing forms of the division of labour in its social, technical and spatial aspects. The argument develops in three steps. Firstly, the overall context of locational decisions is analysed as the combined result of the division of labour, the needs and the strategies of the agents of capitalist production and the role of the state. Secondly, the emphasis is on the impact of new investment upon a particular territorial unit and the possibilities to direct this impact towards a self-reliant structure. Finally, the content of spatial integration is clarified and the mechanisms involved in the process are analytically examined.

• Sociology

• Κοινωνικές επιστήμες

Περιλήψεις των παρουσιάσεων στο συνέδριο της ΛέσβουAbstracts of papers presented at the Lesvos conference