ABSTRACT
Chapter map Having defined economic geography in section 1.3, in this chapter we set out the main approaches that economic geographers have adopted over time. This serves to frame and position the political economy perspective that informs this book. We begin by considering the relationship between economic geography and the neighbouring discipline of economics. In the reminder of the chapter, we examine the different approaches that have been adopted in economic geography, gaining favour at different times. Four main approaches are identified: traditional economic geography, which was dominant from the late nineteenth century to the 1950s; spatial analysis, embraced in the 1960s and 1970s; political economy, which became popular in the 1970s and 1980s; and a set of cultural and institutional frameworks which economic geographers have turned towards since the early 1990s. The latter two approaches are considered in greater detail because of their importance
in recent years.
