Abstract
In this chapter I review economic geography's study of the modern corporation. There are two parts. In the first part I revisit the influence of analysis from political economy and the pioneering work of David Harvey and his exposition of capitalism's geography. I then use Harvey's work to track research into the changing nature of the organizational and investment behaviors of corporations. Here we encounter four themes: the post-war development of monopolies, the processes of industrial restructuring, the impacts of financialization processes, and the pursuit of globalization. In the second part, I present a case study of BHP Billiton, the world's largest minerals company, and relive its development as a powerful capitalist entity. The chapter concludes with a discussion of what an economic geography of the corporation might look like in the years ahead.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Economic Geography |
Editors | Trevor J. Barnes, Jamie Peck, Eric Sheppard |
Place of Publication | U.S. |
Publisher | Wiley-Blackwell |
Pages | 74-90 |
Number of pages | 17 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781444336801 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Keywords
- BHP Billiton
- corporations
- economic geography