Related variety and regional development: a critique

Bathelt, Harald and Storper, Michael ORCID: 0000-0002-8354-792X (2023) Related variety and regional development: a critique. Economic Geography, 99 (5). 441 - 470. ISSN 0013-0095

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Abstract

Evolutionary approaches in economic geography have contributed substantially to the growing body of knowledge of regional development processes and their underlying mechanisms. One key concept in the literature on evolutionary economic geography is that of related variety. Herein, regional industry structure is represented through the level of related variety of technologies, skills, or outputs. The related variety concept proposes that regional economic development is favored when an economy diversifies into products or technologies that are closely related to the stock of existing activities. In this article, we raise substantive questions regarding the internal logic of the concept of related variety, its spatial expressions, measurement specifics, empirical regularities and biases, and its possible short- and long-term effects on regional development. Based on this investigation, we make suggestions for improvements to future research.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2023 Clark University.
Divisions:	Geography & Environment
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
JEL classification:	L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L23 - Organization of Production R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R11 - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, and Changes
Date Deposited:	05 Sep 2023 23:18
Last Modified:	25 Apr 2024 19:00
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/120162

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