Economie géographique: Problèmes anciens et nouvelles perspectives

Economic activities are unevenly distributed over space. Explaining this simple but widespread phenomenon is the main purpose of economic geography. The main reasons for the emergence of economic agglomerations are the following ones: (i) externalities in perfectly competitive markets; (ii) increasing returns in environments characterized by monopolistic competition; and (iii) strategic interactions among firms. A few general principles governing the organization of the space-economy are then discussed. Finally some alternative approaches are briefly analyzed.