EXTERNAL ECONOMIES, AGGLOMERATION AND FLEXIBLE ACCUMULATION

The concept of external/agglomeration economies has held a central place within geographical accounts of the spatial concentration of economic activity since Weber's discussion of agglomeration. The use of the concept within the geographical literature has not been without its problems. After a brief estrangement from mainstream industrial geography, the concept is once again the centre-piece of influential accounts of the spatial organisation of production. This paper examines the internal consistency of the 'flexible accumulation' thesis. It examines the microeconomic logic to agglomeration within accounts of a new regime of accumulation. One influential account of the agglomeration of production is examined in the light of a brief review of the use of the concept of external/agglomeration economies within the geographical literature. The paper identifies several shortcomings of contemporary explanations of agglomeration.