演化经济地理学的理论脉络演进与研究议题展望

The sequence of theoretical development and research agendas of evolutionary economic geography

近20多年来,演化经济地理学成长为经济地理学前沿的分支学科,呈现动态性、复合性和开放性。鉴于目前对学科“全景式”理论发展的回顾及其承接逻辑的总结相对有限,并且在新时期亟待再思考学科发展方向,本研究致力于梳理演化经济地理学的理论脉络演进并展望研究议题。自1990年代以来,演化经济地理学经历了探索与萌芽、兴起与发展、争论与转型、拓展与繁荣4个关键时间节点。探索与萌芽源自于演化经济学的兴起补充了经济地理学对历史和时间因素关注的不足,兴起与发展依托于运用演化经济学概念、理论和方法丰富经济地理学经典议题的理论解释,争论与转型体现在对照搬移植演化经济学理论的反思,旨在强化对真实世界中区域产业演化的解释力,拓展与繁荣表现在与全球生产网络、可持续性转型、作用者能动性、地理政治经济学、区域经济韧性和复杂性科学等多元理论框架的互动加深,学科边界持续拓展。近年来,中国学者基于中国国情特色、国家战略需求和现实问题导向,开展中国区域产业演化研究并反思西方理论的适用性,中西方理论对话日益丰硕。最后,从理论探索、方法创新和实证应用3个方面展望了研究议题。

Evolutionary economic geography(EEG)has emerged and developed as a cuttingedge and essential subdiscipline of economic geography over the last two decades or so,characterized by its fluidity,complexity,and openness.Given insufficient panoramic reviews of the line of theoretical development to date,a limited understanding of the inherent causal logic,and the pressing need to reassess the research avenues of the discipline in light of the presentday emerging background,this study seeks to comprehensively elucidate the sequence of theoretical development and propose research agendas for EEG.Since the 1990s,EEG has undergone four key points in time of theoretical development:exploration and germination in the 1990s,emergence and development in the mid-2000s,debates and transition in the early 2010s,and expansion and prosperity since the late 2010s.Exploration and germination is rooted in the rise of evolutionary economics that enhances the consideration of historical and temporal factors in conditioning economic geographic processes.Emergence and development zooms in on diversifying theoretical interpretations of classical economic geography issues by deploying the concepts,theories,and methodologies from evolutionary economics.Debates and transition is distinguished by the rethinking of uncritically transplanting concepts,theories,and methodologies from evolutionary economics,aiming to consolidate and refresh explanatory power on the real-world regional industrial evolution.Expansion and prosperity is embodied in the ever-increasing interactions between theoretical frameworks in EEG and global production networks,sustainability transitions,actor agencies,geographical political economy,regional economic resilience,and complexity science,which consistently broadens the scope of EEG.Recently,Chinese EEGers have facilitated theoretical and empirical studies on regional industrial evolution in China by taking into account national circumstances with Chinese characteristics,national strategic demands,and regional economic development issues.Chinese EEGers have been increasingly questioning the suitability of EEG theories originating from Western experiences to regional industrial evolution in China,which has sparked fruitful theoretical dialogues and debates between Chinese and Western EEGers.This paper ends with delineating the upcoming research agendas of EEG through the lens of theoretical inquiries,methodological advancements,and empirical implementations,aiming for EEG knowledge production and integrated theoretical development based on regional industrial dynamics in China and influenced by China.