Routledge Dynamics of Economic Spaces in the Global Knowledge-based Economy: Theory and East Asian Cases (Regions and Cities)

This book addresses how economic spaces dynamically change within the context of the global knowledge-based economy. Specifically, it centers the discussion on integrated views of understanding and conceptualizing dynamic changes of global economy under the global megatrends of globalization, knowledge-based economy, information society, service world, climate change, and population aging. Focusing on East Asia, especially on Korea, it deals with case studies regarding the processes and patterns of these global dynamics, looking at economic spaces of various spatial scales and types of economic actors. This book develops a theoretical model for understanding and analysing the dynamics of economic spaces that are being reshaped within the larger global economy. It also emphasizes the analysis of empirical studies at the level of firm, region, and state by considering an evolutionary perspective over time. In developing its theoretical framework, this book examines regional resilience, intangible assets, service innovation, path dependence, and other notions related to the evolution of economic spaces, and incorporates these elements into real-world case studies. The integrated theoretical framework examined here contributes a new perspective on spatial disparities in the global economy. An integral model of service innovation; the integration of path dependence and regional resilience; the interaction between firm and region for the accumulation of intangible assets; and the roles of governments and global firms: these are all essential to understanding the dynamics of economic spaces in East Asia. The theoretical model and case studies in this book suggest policy implications for developing countries, especially in the Asian and African regions, with regard to regional development and innovation policies. Review "The publication of this book is very timely and it covers a series of important areas concerning conceptual development and empirical contributions. It takes a broad view of the development of the knowledge economy and connects this, to a set of what the author calls megatrends, and how they are forming new economic spaces...For scholars and students interested in how East Asia will handle future developments in relation to the knowledge economy and sustainability, this is a book that deserves being read!"Patrik Stro¨m, University of Gothenburg, Journal of Economic Geography ‘[This] book is logically organized and well written. Park’s treatment of the topic is comprehensive, and in developing his ideas, Park explores and incorporates a wide variety of key concepts from the field of urban and regional development, including (but by no means limited to) agglomeration economies, path dependence, regional resilience, industrial restructuring, local buzz, global pipelines, industrial clusters, tangible and intangible assets, absorptive capacity, knowledge spillovers, and tacit and codified knowledge. […] Park’s ability to synthesize [these ideas] so as to enhance our understanding of the forces shaping both the global and the Korean economy makes this volume both a valuable and worthwhile read.’ ― Neil Reid (2016) ‘A review of Dynamics of Economic Spaces in the Global Knowledge-Based Economy: Theory and East Asian Cases By Sam Ock Park’, Economic Geography, 92:4, 460-461, DOI: 10.1080/00130095.2016.1156486 About the Author Sam Ock Park is Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography, Seoul National University and Chair Professor, Department of Public Administration, Gachon University, South Korea.