Abstract
Previous articleNext article No AccessReply: Whither the Parallel Paths? The Future of Scholarship on the World City System1 See the comment associated with this reply.Jason Beckfield Arthur S. Alderson Jason BeckfieldUniversity of Chicago Search for more articles by this author Arthur S. AldersonIndiana University Search for more articles by this author University of ChicagoIndiana UniversityPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Sociology Volume 112, Number 3November 2006 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/510992 Views: 83Total views on this site Citations: 17Citations are reported from Crossref Permission to reprint this essay may be obtained only from the author.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Michael Timberlake, John Orville Stevens, Xiulian Ma Chinese Cities in the World-System’s City System: 2001–2014, (Apr 2020): 61–79.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34780-2_3Wenjia Zhang, Jean-Claude Thill Mesoscale Structures in World City Networks, Annals of the American Association of Geographers 109, no.33 (Feb 2019): 887–908.https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2018.1484684Li Xiong, Lu Zhao, Shan Xue Node importance evaluation of world city networks: A survey, (Jul 2016): 1–6.https://doi.org/10.1109/LISS.2016.7854364Lu Zhao, Li Xiong, Shan Xue Global Recursive Based Node Importance Evaluation, (Nov 2016): 738–750.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49586-6_53Kirsten Martinus, Thomas J. Sigler, Glen Searle, Matthew Tonts Strategic globalizing centers and sub-network geometries: A social network analysis of multi-scalar energy networks, Geoforum 64 (Aug 2015): 78–89.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.06.006Matthew R Sanderson, Ben Derudder, Michael Timberlake, Frank Witlox Are world cities also world immigrant cities? An international, cross-city analysis of global centrality and immigration, International Journal of Comparative Sociology 56, no.3-43-4 (Sep 2015): 173–197.https://doi.org/10.1177/0020715215604350Ronald Wall, Spyridon Stavropoulos, Jurian Edelenbos, Filipa Pajević Evaluating the Performance of Smart Cities in the Global Economic Network, (Jul 2015): 87–113.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03167-5_6Xingjian Liu, Ben Derudder, Frank Witlox, Michael Hoyler Cities As Networks within Networks of Cities: The Evolution of the City/Firm-Duality in the World City Network, 2000-2010, Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie 105, no.44 (Sep 2014): 465–482.https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.12097Stefan Krätke Global Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Firms’ Linkages in the World City Network, Urban Studies 51, no.66 (Jul 2013): 1196–1213.https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098013494420STEFAN KRÄTKE How manufacturing industries connect cities across the world: extending research on ‘multiple globalizations’, Global Networks 14, no.22 (Sep 2013): 121–147.https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12036Karen Lai Differentiated Markets: Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong in China’s Financial Centre Network, Urban Studies 49, no.66 (Jun 2011): 1275–1296.https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098011408143Ronald Sean Wall, G. A. van der Knaap Sectoral Differentiation and Network Structure Within Contemporary Worldwide Corporate Networks, Economic Geography 87, no.33 (Jun 2011): 267–308.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-8287.2011.01122.xMatthew C. Mahutga, Xiulian Ma, David A. Smith, Michael Timberlake Economic Globalisation and the Structure of the World City System: The Case of Airline Passenger Data, Urban Studies 47, no.99 (Jul 2010): 1925–1947.https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098010372684INGEBORG VIND, NIELS FOLD City networks and commodity chains: identifying global flows and local connections in Ho Chi Minh City, Global Networks 10, no.11 (Jan 2010): 54–74.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2010.00274.xSASKIA SASSEN Global inter-city networks and commodity chains: any intersections?, Global Networks 10, no.11 (Jan 2010): 150–163.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2010.00279.xZACHARY P. NEAL The duality of world cities and firms: comparing networks, hierarchies, and inequalities in the global economy, Global Networks 8, no.11 (Dec 2007): 94–115.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2008.00187.xDavid Brady, Jason Beckfield, Wei Zhao The Consequences of Economic Globalization for Affluent Democracies, Annual Review of Sociology 33, no.11 (Aug 2007): 313–334.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.33.040406.131636
Highlights
We agree that our work and the research of the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group and Network have much to add to one another, and we see a bright future ahead for interdisciplinary world city research
We differ with only a few of the points that he raises and believe that it would be most productive and illuminating to respond to four of his concerns: (1) that in applying some of the techniques that we draw from social network analysis to the study of the world city system, our approach risks reifying cities and, thereby, obscuring the economic agency of firms, (2) that Taylor’s approach relates cities to firms in a more subtle or sensitive fashion than our approach, (3) that our approach misses “regional headquarters,” and (4) that we mistake “network power” for prestige
We do not believe it necessarily inappropriate to talk about the world city system, or other social things, in such terms
Summary
We differ with only a few of the points that he raises and believe that it would be most productive and illuminating to respond to four of his concerns: (1) that in applying some of the techniques that we draw from social network analysis to the study of the world city system, our approach risks reifying cities and, thereby, obscuring the economic agency of firms, (2) that Taylor’s approach relates cities to firms in a more subtle or sensitive fashion than our approach, (3) that our approach misses “regional headquarters,” and (4) that we mistake “network power” for prestige.
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