Information technology and the spatial dynamics of capital

Abstract

This paper considers the spatial attributes of computer network technology and their implications for modelling the regional dynamics of the information economy. Attention focuses initially on the assumptions made about the locational and usage characteristics of capital in some traditional regional economic models, and then it is shown that the new information technology, as a form of ‘information capital’, requires closer scrutiny of these approaches. We emphasize the ‘communicability’ of this type of capital, specifically the capital services embodied in information flows over corporate computer networks, and its potential effects on the regional geography of enterprise and of the economy more generally. This leads us to reflect on what new considerations should enter into regional policy-making for the information economy, including the central role of advanced telecommunications infrastructure.