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We analyse how spatial disparities in innovation activities, coupled with migration costs, affect economic geography, market structure, growth and regional inequality. We provide conditions for existence and uniqueness of a spatial equilibrium, and for the endogenous emergence of industry clusters. Spatial variations in knowledge spillovers lead to spatial concentration of more innovative firms. Migration costs, however, limit the concentration of economic activities in the most productive region. Narrowing the gap in knowledge spillovers across regions raises growth, and reduces regional inequality by making firms more sensitive to wage differentials. The associated change in the industry concentration has positive welfare effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than two decades economic geographers and others have been examining the reasons why some places are more innovative than others. Policy makers have also been actively involved, as they try to develop their countries and regions through innovation and knowledge. In this paper I will address three criticisms that have been made to this literature and suggest avenues of research that could help address them. These criticisms are: the neglect of power asymmetries at the international and intra-regional levels between economic and other relevant agents, and their impact on the evolution of regional economies; the excessive focus on the region and the neglect of the multi-scalar nature of innovation; the emphasis on networks and systems which masks heterogeneity and fragmentation at the local level. Finally I will also discuss some of the more recent guidelines for place-based policy making in this field. Overall my objective is to contribute to the literature on territorial innovation systems by suggesting how these concepts can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of geographic information system (GIS) techniques for rigorous analysis of regional inequality in China remains limited. In this article, the authors utilize recent data and GIS and spatial statistical techniques to analyze changing patterns of regional inequality in China from 1978 to 2000. It also identifies the changing clusters of regional development in China. They illustrate that regional inequality in China is sensitive to development trajectories of the provinces, and that conventional measures of regional inequality mask geographical clustering.