Dynamics in economic geography 2e druk - Ton van Rietbergen, Sierdjan Koster

1.5 | Conclusion

Micro

Meso

Location: Available land, overall look and feel, availability of services and utilities, tra c situation and accessibility, general standard of surrounding area

Access to: Labour market,

natural resources, energy, markets, suppliers, customers

Location

Socio-economic environment: Capital, subsidies, government policy, taxes, technology

Macro

Figure 1.4

Location factors at the micro, meso and macro level (Rodrigue, 2020)

The various regions in the Netherlands have a great deal in common: there is a single tax system, collective agreements ensure virtually equal pay for certain types of labour, all the provinces have the same kind of educational institutions, and all across the country, the road network meets the same minimum standard. In other words, for many (though by no means all) activities, many (though again not all) regions are able to provide the basic conditions enabling companies to function. Nonetheless, the Netherlands does not provide the kind of equal conditions of fered by an ‘urban field’. In this type of region, exactly where businesses decide to establish themselves does not matter too much, as conditions will be favourable to them everywhere. There are local differences within the Netherlands and compa nies take these into account. This can have to do with the increasing importance of ‘soft’ location factors, such as the look and feel of the premises, the quality of the surrounding area and the reputation of the region. According to research bu reau Stec (2001), the importance of soft factors depends on the type of activity, with sales, consultancy and shared services being the most sensitive to soft location fac tors. From a comparison of three studies on corporate migration dated 1977, 1988 and 1999, Dutch economic geographer Frank van Oort (2007) concluded that over time, the appearance of the premise has become an increasingly important location factor in the Netherlands.

1.5

Conclusion

In this chapter we have seen how closely related the disciplines of economics and economic geography are; economic geography is the spatial application of econom ic theories. The desire on the part of authorities for economic development in their administrative regions has led many policymakers to include economic-geograph ical theory in their toolkit. As a strongly empirical science, economic geography

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