Boundary objects and boundary work: Making exchange possible in a pluralistic economic geography

Abstract

Economic Geography is a (very) diverse field. To some, this pluralism is, or has been, worrying. In this paper, we however track the discussion about Economic Geography as a field that would gain much from ‘engaged pluralism’. We argue that this requires some agreement on the central role of ‘geography’ and ‘the economic’ in economic geography, but also a catalog of ‘boundary concepts’. We discuss four candidates: (1) crisis and resilience, (2) innovation and diffusion, (3) path dependence and (4) sustainability. We believe that the idea of ‘trading zones’ in economic geography has the potential to modify disciplinary practice and solve some of the tensions between increasing research focus and specialization, and the mounting complexity of contemporary societal issues. We think that the presence of vivid trading zones under conditions of pluralism would make our discipline even more interesting, dynamic, and, we would say, fun.