Peripheries within economic geography: Four problems and the road ahead of us

This paper is a theoretical contribution to interrogate and elucidate a term commonly used (but rarely inter-rogated) from the perspective of the economic geography field within which we work: peripheries. As researchers of peripheries we are all too familiar with the fuzziness and problematic nature of this term, and our long-standing research agenda is to work towards clarifying and nuancing it, addressing its role in either stigma-tizing or assuming some predetermined destiny for different regions and territories. This paper reviews the work conducted on peripheries within economic geography, and identifies a number of gaps or problems in the way in which this term is used. The paper proposes a way forwards for addressing these problems, in a series of suggestions as to how we can do better in researching economic geographies of peripheries. The final dis-cussion reorients our debate towards possible avenues for the research community to anchor peripheries in theoretical advancements and a more systemic approach to empirical investigations. Finally, this paper proposes a holistic framework for studying peripheries in economic geography, which take into account environmental, socio-cultural, and political elements as well as pure economic issues.

Automated summary

This paper contributes theoretically to interrogate the term "peripheries" commonly used in economic geography field. It reviews research work on peripheries, identifies gaps in using this term, and proposes suggestions for better researching economic geographies of peripheries. The final discussion aims to advance theoretical developments and a more systemic approach to empirical investigations in anchoring peripheries.