Economic Geography PDF
Preview Economic Geography
Title Pages Economic Geography: Volume 1: Land, Water, and Agriculture L. S. Bhat, H. S. Sharma, and M. H. Qureshi Print publication date: 2016 Print ISBN-13: 9780199458417 Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2016 DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199458417.001.0001 Title Pages Volume 1: Land, Water, and Agriculture (p.ii) (p.i) Economic Geography (p.iii) ICSSR Research Surveys and Explorations Economic Geography (p.iv) Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in India by Oxford University Press Page 1 of 2 Title Pages YMCA Library Building, 1 Jai Singh Road, New Delhi 110 001, India © Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi 2016 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted First Edition published in 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer ISBN-13: 978-0-19-945841-7 ISBN-10: 0-19-945841-3 Typeset in Minion Pro 10.5/13 by The Graphics Solution, New Delhi 110 092 Printed in India by Avantika Printers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi 110 065 Page 2 of 2 Foreword Economic Geography: Volume 1: Land, Water, and Agriculture L. S. Bhat, H. S. Sharma, and M. H. Qureshi Print publication date: 2016 Print ISBN-13: 9780199458417 Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2016 DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199458417.001.0001 (p.vii) Foreword Javeed Alam This Survey of Research and Explorations in geography is one of the series of exercises initiated by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) since 1969, covering the disciplines of geography, economics, sociology, political science, and psychology. These disciplines have interfaces among them and have the potential to strengthen the interdisciplinary focus to identify complex and challenging issues that man has to face under the impact of modern technology on the life and living conditions of the people. Dichotomy between the developed and developing world has been increasing in spite of the efforts to integrate their economies through globalization. Also, the impact of globalization on the polarized economy of India prior to independence has further resulted in increasing regional disparities within the country, thereby affecting the living conditions of different sections of the people, particularly of the poorest among them. Economic geography aims at understanding the spatial organization of the national economy centred on the system of relatively few large cities in the midst of an ocean of villages and small towns. This needs to be reversed by integrating the development of a system of small towns as agro-industrial centres that would enable diversification of employment, infrastructure, and provision of social facilities and amenities. These aspects of development have a human face in socio-economic development, which has strong regional affinity and powerful force for dispersal of economic activities with people’s participation in the development process. Keeping the spatial organization of socio-economic development as the framework of reference, the survey has attempted an (p.viii) integrated review of the theme of economic geography for the contributions during 2003–9. Gaps Page 1 of 2 Foreword in research and training have been identified and an exploratory view for improvement has been provided. I congratulate the Editorial Committee, the contributors, and the discussants for the timely completion of the research survey that has enabled the Council to take the necessary steps for publication of the report for wider dissemination and feedback from the scholars in the field of social science. Javeed Alam Chairman, Indian Council of Social Science Research (2008–11), New Delhi Page 2 of 2 Preface Economic Geography: Volume 1: Land, Water, and Agriculture L. S. Bhat, H. S. Sharma, and M. H. Qureshi Print publication date: 2016 Print ISBN-13: 9780199458417 Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2016 DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199458417.001.0001 (p.ix) Preface L.S. Bhat Economic geography has been chosen as the theme for the sixth Survey of Research and Exploration for the period covering 2003–9. The theme is gaining importance in the wake of globalization of the economy that aims in strengthening the interdependence of developed and developing countries within and between them. This strategy would require improvement of the economies of developing countries, utilizing their manpower and endogenously available resources. India’s regional diversities in sociocultural characteristics and disparities in levels of living standards of the people make a strong case for understanding the element of space in the evolution of regions and their complementary role in the long-term perspectives of development at the global and intra-national regions of different scale. Using this as the frame of reference, the Editorial Committee (Geography) discussed at length and identified sub-themes related to economic geography. Contributors were identified and invited for appraisal of the scope and content of the survey report. Theoretical and conceptual framework and changes over time have been kept in focus while attempting a critical review of the methods of analysis and achievement during the period under review. The topics chosen were grouped into five categories and theme editors were identified to coordinate and integrate the report. A draft report was discussed at the meeting of the Editorial Committee with the contributors. Discussants were invited for offering their comments and suggestions, if any. These deliberations proved to be vital for finalization of the report. Gaps in research and training and the exploratory view of the (p.x) role of economic geography as an interdisciplinary theme in social science were discussed in general, and geography in particular. Page 1 of 2 Preface The Editorial Committee would like to express its gratitude to Professor Javeed Alam, Ex-Chairman, Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), for writing the Foreword and Shri Ranjit Sinha, Ex-Member Secretary of the Council, for his keen interest and support for the preparation of the survey report. The Editorial Advisory Committee of the Council, comprising all the chosen disciplines in social science, had also met earlier for exchange of views on the survey of research from each discipline. Thanks are due to all the staff members of the research survey and Publication Division of the Council, particularly Shri K.L. Khera, Ex-Director, and Shri Ajay Gupta, Deputy Director, who have extended full support during different stages of the work. L.S. Bhat (1930–2013) General Editor New Delhi Page 2 of 2 General Introduction—Economic Geography Economic Geography: Volume 1: Land, Water, and Agriculture L. S. Bhat, H. S. Sharma, and M. H. Qureshi Print publication date: 2016 Print ISBN-13: 9780199458417 Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2016 DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199458417.001.0001 (p.xi) General Introduction—Economic Geography Conceptual and Theoretical Framework L.S. Bhat Economic geography is one of the important sub-fields of geography, along with physical, human, and regional geography; all interrelated and integrative among various elements covering each of them. Landscape approach (for example, physical landscape and human, economic, and regional landscape) is the focus of the analysis and synthesis of these elements. Focus of economic geography is on spatial organization of the economy. Physical landscape and human response over time serve to explain the changing personality of a region or a system of regions in a national framework. This survey report attempts to provide the progress of research during the period 2003–9. However, it would be incomplete without a comprehensive backdrop to the current survey with focus on methods and achievements in the field covering the changes in the fundamental viewpoints of geography and the progress of the conceptual and theoretical framework evolved over the years to reflect its interdisciplinary nature, cutting across physical and social sciences, that have similar viewpoints and relevance. The manner in which spatial organization has evolved over time under the impact of historical socio-economic factors has a bearing on economic development and vice versa. The subject matter of geography (p.xii) has tried to keep pace with these changes in sister disciplines; and in so doing has demonstrated, through case studies, its importance and relevance in identifying Page 1 of 20 General Introduction—Economic Geography and explaining the causes for regional disparities in development and the strategies to minimize them. Methods and Achievements in the Field The traditionally held view that geography is concerned with man and the surface of the earth where he lives and works provides the magnitude of challenge faced by contemporary geographers. The challenges are because of three different but related dimensions; one is man himself because of the qualitative change and composition in terms of demographic, sociocultural, and economic attributes of the population over time. Second, the surface of the earth itself is subject to continuous changes as a result of the imprints of man’s adaptation to the environment of the area and vice versa. But impressions of variations in human response to natural environment, resource endowment, and its utilization over time are seen in similarities and dissimilarities of socio- economic organization of space within and between the broad natural regions of the world, as well as in countries of continental dimension as India. Third, the processes of change that set in as a result of the interaction between man and environment are also subject to continuous change. It is against this background that one has to evaluate the foundation of geography as a spatial subject, the progress made in the discipline, particularly in its fundamental viewpoint of region or space (as a neutral term), and the prospects for the future in the midst of challenges faced due to technological innovations and man’s efforts to improve his quality of life. Because of the ambiguity of ‘geography as the study of everything on the surface of the earth as the home of man’, the debate on systematic and regional geography finally centred on the distributional pattern of all the attributes, explanation of the underlying factors contributing to variations in the observed patterns, and their interrelationship. The concept of region and regionalization were given more than their share of dominance in the early period of twentieth century, so much so that the contribution of regional geography, for instance, in the Indian case, became largely a regional description and qualitative (p.xiii) expression of analysis. Regional synthesis, or regional differentiation (regionalization), and characterization of regions was attempted by subjective methods of map overlays. Often, study of a large territory comparable to that of a nation or sub-national areas was undertaken, and the end product was the regional differentiation and description of their characteristics. In other cases, using somewhat vaguely the homogeneity criteria, a nation or a sub-national area was divided into a scheme of regions; and these regions became the basis for detailed study (Spate 1967). For the first time, Spate introduced the concept of macro, meso, and micro-region in a hierarchy system. Economy of nation is organized in or on the geographic space and it has been possible to differentiate spatial organization into fully integrated (relatively closed macro), partially integrated (meso), and microeconomic regions. This hierarchy of regions is organized around a nested system of nodes and their tributary areas connected Page 2 of 20 General Introduction—Economic Geography by transport routes. Intensity of trade and types of commodities traded serve to portray inter-regional and intra-regional relationships. This approach persists even today, and Indian geographers are yet to evolve an analytical framework for understanding India’s regions and providing a geographical interpretation to the processes and patterns that change the personality of the regions and their influence on sociocultural and economic changes (see References). These studies have provided evolution of regions as dynamic entities and presented a scheme of regions and highlighted the problems in national planning and regional integration. However, exercises in regionalization, composite or topical, related to some aspects making up the regional personality have been far too many, and often repetitive, using traditional descriptive approach aided by maps or using simple quantitative techniques. Classic example of regionalization of agriculture has been the use of Weaver’s method of delineation of crop combination regions which did not go beyond this exercise (Weaver 1954). Yet another example is in the use of principal component analysis for composite regionalization of the attributes which are often not rigorously tested for their linear association. Thus, instead of professional improvement of the methods of analysis, a lot of superficiality has crept in. These are examples in the application of quantitative techniques in identifying a scheme of regions with variations in levels of overall development. (p.xiv) Conceptual Clarity Concept of Region, Area, and Space Environmental determinism constituted the core of the concept of region in geography during the nineteenth century. Commensurate with technological advances, geographical research could not develop appropriate tools and techniques to enable the discipline to accommodate the dynamic aspects of regional transformation. This led to a widening of the gap among the disciplines both in physical and social sciences with which the subject of geography shares its periphery. Instead of geography taking the lead in providing for understanding and evaluation of the factors contributing to regional differentiation, much of the innovation in this aspect was borrowed by geography from economics, as can be seen in the writings of Christaller (1966), Freidman and Alonso (1964), Isard (1960), Lefeber (1958), Losch (1954), and Richardson (1969). This would enable us to critically evaluate the fundamental viewpoint of the subject, while appreciating the discipline’s foundation on the concept of space element. Also, the multidisciplinary viewpoints/contributions of Indian geographers have been reviewed in this book and bibliographic references. While the concept of region conveys to the geographer the properties of homogeneity unlike that of area or any other bounded unit (such as an administrative unit), there has been continued discussion within geography about ‘homogeneity versus heterogeneity’, ‘formal versus functional or nodal’, Page 3 of 20 General Introduction—Economic Geography and ‘single purpose versus composite region’ without much clarity. For that matter, it is now realized that this debate has been a stumbling block in the progress of geography; the boundary should be flexible depending on the purpose; and it is the core which is important. Core areas of two regions could be separated by a belt and not by a fixed boundary line. The remark that ‘geographers have spent good deal of their time in search of boundaries which do not exist of regions which do not matter’ seems to be valid if one were to enlarge the concept of region to accommodate similar view of other disciplines (Isard 1960). Space elements form a common link in several disciplines, for example, geographic space, social or cultural space, economic space, and so on. Likewise, the concept of spatial organization of the national or regional economies around nodes emphasized in regional (p.xv) economics finds a common conceptual basis in the emergence of a geographical region expressed in the concept of formal region tending to become a functional region, and that the formation of functional regions around nodes (market centres) is the initial stage in the formation of economic regions. The space element of the economy, particularly of an agricultural region, comprises areal and locational components connected by transport routes, and is special to geography in introducing hierarchic concept of regional and locational systems. If the boundary is kept flexible and the economy more open-ended (as the sub-regional economies are in a national context), the question of where to draw the regional boundaries could be decided depending on regional economic development strategy spelt out in the national plan. For example, location of basic and heavy industry in large regions within which demands for these products endogenously exist, or they need to be assumed on the basis of development of other activities (for example, agricultural and engineering industries as part of the development plan formulated using local and regional resources [both physical and human]). Thus, modern geography, in its application to problems in development, has enlarged the conceptual and theoretical framework and sharpened both the quantitative and cartographic techniques. It has been possible to search for the extent of association among these attributes. Recurrence of certain patterns has lead to search for spatial regularity. This measurement of association or relationship among different elements, first, formed the basis for quantitative analysis using simple and multiple correlation, regression, etc., to the extent that certain attributes have linear association and the end result provides objectivity to geographical interpretation. Second, geographers have shown interest in measuring regional differences in the pattern of distribution of one or more attributes which are often interrelated. This, in effect, is regionalization (single purpose or composite). Geographers in India have been using factor analysis as one of the methods in regionalization, though this trend is recent (for example, in identifying variations in the overall levels of development or underdevelopment, functional classification of towns, and delineation of Page 4 of 20
The list of books you might like
