Self-organized criticality: An operational framework for spatial economic dynamics (37)

Theme Track: Methods of Spatial Analysis - GeoComputation

Authors:
Nijkamp, Peter ; Reggiani, Aura ; Andergassen, Rainer

The present paper aims to offer insights and reflections originating from the recently developed concept of Self-Organised Criticality (SOC), as well as to explore its potential contribution to understanding the evolution of regional economic patterns and developments. The first part of the paper introduces the concept of SOC, which is an outgrowth of recent advances in dynamic systems analysis in which attempts are made to investigate the transition trajectories of evolutionary systems. Particularly, SOC sets out how a slow exogenous driving force, together with strong localized interactions between single elements of the system (micro-level) leads the system to a critical state (macro-level). Consequently, SOC aims to examine which critical conditions emerging out of the internal dynamics of the system itself lead to significant and structural transformations of the system's behavior. The second part of the paper aims to explore the empirical potential of SOC in the specific area of regional labour market analysis. Particularly, the evolutionary dynamics of employment - at a district/regional level - in West Germany will be investigated in order to detect the emergence of a power law distribution of growth rates, which is a characteristic element of SOC at the macro-economic level. In this context, SOC may explain the presence of large fluctuations in West Germany, and, in general, the dynamics inherent in business cycles.

[Home]    [Sitemap]