Towards a More Holistic Framework for Economic Geography

The central argument of this paper is that current tendencies in the new economic geographies and work on regeneration are not contributing as much as they might to understanding the consequences of current economic change for regional inequality and development. These perspectives have tended to focus on the minutia of change; either the linkages between firms in economic clusters or on the processes of discursive inclusion in regeneration schemes. The wider consequences in terms of the well-being of people in places have been rather neglected. To overcome the partial nature of the approaches criticised a more holistic framework for understanding regional development, which draws upon contemporary economic and social theories in relation to production, social reproduction, recognition and redistribution is advocated. She is Associate Editor of Regional Studies and a member of the Women's Budget Group. She recently coordinated a comparative study of flexible working and the reconciliation of work and family life for the European Union and is currently working on the gendered nature and spatial form of the new economy.