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Notes on the Use of Regional Science Methods in Economic History

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2011

Walter Isard
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania

Extract

My notes this morning are a continuation of Professor Broude's paper which has been circulated. I take the position that study of regional, interregional, and spatial interaction can provide insights for understanding not only national but all economic development. Put even more strongly, a well-balanced economic history must explicitly consider spatial processes and the evolving web of interregional relationships.

Type
Spacial Differentiation and Economic Growth
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1960

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References

1 For discussion of the concept of region, see among others M. E. Garnsey, “The Dimensions of Regional Science,” and Isard, W., “Regional Science, The Concept of Region and Regional Structure,” both in Papers and Proceedings of the Regional Science Association, Vol. 2, 1956;Google ScholarJames, P. E.“Toward a Further Understanding of the Regional Concept,” Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 42 (September 1952);CrossRefGoogle ScholarJames, P. E. and Jones, C. F., eds., American Geography: Inventory and Prospect, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York, 1954, pp. 1968;Google Scholar H. W. Odum, “The Promise of Regionalism” and Vance, R., “The Regional Concept as a Tool for Social Research,” both in Regionalism in America, ed. by Jensen, M., University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin, 1942Google Scholar; and Vining, R., “Delimitation of Economic Areas: Statistical Conceptions in the Study of the Spatial Structure of an Economic System,” Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 48 (March 1952)Google Scholar.

2 For a full statement on this approach, see Isard, W.et at., Methods of Regional Analysis, An Introduction to Regional Science (New York: John Wiley & Co., 1960) ch. 7Google Scholar.

3 For illustrative comparative cost studies, see W. Isard, “Some Locarional Factors in the Iron and Steel Industry Since the Early Nineteenth Century,” and Isard, W. and Capron, W. M., “The Future Location Pattern of Iron and Steel Production in the United States,” Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 56 (June 1948), and Vol. 57 (April 1949), respectivelyGoogle Scholar.

4 For full treatment, see W. Isard, et al., Methods of Regional Analysis, ch. 8.

5 As an illustration, see Isard, W. and Kuenne, R. E., “The Impact of Steel Upon the Greater New York-Philadelphia Industrial Region: A Study in Agglomeration Projection,” Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 35 (Nov. 1953).Google Scholar

6 W. Isard, et al., Methods of Regional Analysis, chs. 8 and 12.

7 For full discussion, see Isard, W., Schooler, E. W. and Vietorisz, T., Industrial Complex Analysis and Regional Development (New York: John Wiley & Co., 1959)Google Scholar, and W. Isard, et al., Methods of Regional Analysis, ch. 9.