Clark University | Economic Geography Journal

Spaces of Social Exclusion, by Jamie Gough and Aram Eisenschitz with Andrew McCulloch
Peter Sunley, Page 237
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The Economic Geography of Innovation, edited by Karen R. Polenske
Edward J. Malecki, Page 239
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Local and Regional Development, by Andy Pike, Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, and John Tomaney
Susan Christopherson, Page 241
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The Changing Economic Geography of Globalization: Reinventing Space, edited by Giovanna Vertova
Kean Birch, Page 243
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Cluster Genesis: Technology-Based Industrial Development, edited by Pontus Braunerhjelm and Maryann Feldman
Nicholas A. Phelps, Page 245
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Understanding the Firm: Spatial and Organizational Dimensions, edited by Michael Taylor and Päivi Oinas
Jennifer Clark, Page 247
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Colonial and Post-Colonial Geographies of India, edited by Saraswati Raju, M. Satish Kumar, and Stuart Corbridge
Haripriya Rangan, Page 249
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Accumulation by Decarbonization and the Governance of Carbon Offsets, by Adam G. Bumpus and Diana M. Liverman

Abstract: This article examines the governance of international carbon offsets, analyzing the political economy of the origins and governance of offsets. We examine how the governance structures of the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism and unregulated voluntary carbon offsets differ in regulation and in complexity of the chain that links consumers and reducers of carbon, with specific consequences for carbon reductions, development, and the ability to provide “accumulation by decarbonization.” We show how carbon offsets represent capital-accumulation strategies that devolve governance over the atmosphere to supranational and nonstate actors and to the market.

Key words: carbon offsets, climate change, Clean Development Mechanism, neoliberalism, political economy, market environmentalism.

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The Effects of Spatial Mobility on the Performance of Firms, by Joris Knoben, L. A. G. (Leon) Oerlemans, and R. P. J. H. (Roel) Rutten

Abstract: A considerable body of research has analyzed the impact of a firm’s geographic position and levels of organizational and territorial embeddedness on its performance. Generally, these studies have assumed that firms are immobile. Research that has focused on the effects of the relocation of firms has treated firms mainly as atomistic actors that can move freely in geographic space and has tended to neglect the influence of changes in a firm’s geographic position and level of organizational and territorial embeddedness. We integrated insights from both streams of literature to answer the research question, “What are the effects of relocation on a firm’s performance, and what is the influence of a firm’s geographic position and its level of organizational and territorial embeddedness on this relationship?” On the basis of our analysis of data from a survey of managers of Dutch automation services firms, we found that the degree of impact of a firm’s relocation on its performance depends on the characteristics of the relocation. For example, a move to an urbanized region hampers performance, whereas a move to a research and development-intensive region fosters a higher level of performance. Furthermore, firms with high levels of organizational embeddedness suffer in the short term from relocation, but benefit in the long run.

Key words: relocation, performance, embeddedness, innovativeness.

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Managing the Transnational Law Firm: A Relational Analysis of Professional Systems, Embedded Actors, and Time–Space-Sensitive Governance, by James R. Faulconbridge

Abstract: This article argues that the relational approach can be particularly effective for addressing debates about the varieties of capitalism and the dynamics of institutional contexts. Using the case study of transnational law firms and data gathered through interviews with partners in London and New York, it makes two arguments. First, it suggests that the relational approach’s focus on the behavior of key agents when new or different work practices are encountered helps explain the management of institutional heterogeneity by transnational corporations (TNCs). Such an approach reveals the peculiarities of professionals and professional service managers and how they affect the response of globalizing law firms when home- and host-country business practices diverge. Second, the article shows how relational approaches can help disaggregate descriptions of national institutional systems to reveal the importance of studying their constitutive practices. Understanding these microlevel variations, which is missed by macrolevel categories like Anglo-American, is essential for explaining how firms cope with institutional heterogeneity. The author therefore argues that a better understanding of the effects of TNCs on national business systems can be facilitated by further developing the actor- and practice-focused analyses promoted by relational approaches.

Key words: relational economic geography, globalization, law firms, professions, national business systems, varieties of capitalism.

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The Knot of Contracts: The Corporate Geography of Legacy Costs, by Ashby H. B. Monk

Abstract: Burdensome past commitments are threatening a concentrated group of industries and communities, predominantly in the U.S. Midwest. Beginning with the bankruptcy of Delphi Corporation, this article documents the crisis for “old-economy firms” with significant legacy costs. To understand the root causes of this legacy crisis, the analysis builds on previous research in economic geography and the results of a widely subscribed and unique “expert opinion” survey highlighting the corporate impacts of defined benefit pensions in the private sector. The result is a conceptual framework that describes the corporate geography of legacy costs: the “knot of contracts.” Specifically, the knot of contracts conceptualizes the role of intergenerational commitments in restricting corporate evolution and innovation, while underscoring time as a central component of the nature of the firm. Developing this framework requires linking microeconomic theories of the firm with the institutional aspects of firms’ geographies. While referring to specific cases and proprietary data throughout, the article is principally concerned with understanding legacy costs. In addition, the intent is to uncover managerial and governmental behavior that tightened this knot of contracts and to expose the current managers’ attempts to manage their firms through the adverse affects of the knot of contracts. The explanations in this article serve as a useful bridge between the realities faced by firms and their surrounding communities and the more abstract notions of the firm and competitiveness in the context of globalization.

Key words: legacy costs, pensions, competitiveness, the firm.

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