ABSTRACT
At present, the analysis of clusters and commodity chains represents a central research area in the field of economic geography. In a globalising world, classical spatial structures of the economy – which were previously characterised by the strong influence of the nation-state – are changing. Supra-regional and international relations are becoming more and more important; these linkages based on material and immaterial flows can be analysed in their spatial dimension using the commodity chain approach. And within a globalised system, local concentrations of companies with intensive networks are also gaining competitive advantages; these concentrations can be described and analysed by network and cluster models. For the most part, studies analysing clusters and commodity chains are oriented towards manufacturing industries and service activities. For some time there has been a tendency in economic geography to neglect the agricultural sector and rural areas. This may be based on the fact that, in advanced economies, agriculture is – in terms of employment – of very limited economic importance, and that rural areas are labelled as an economically weak periphery.
