DFG-funded Project: Regional value creation in border regions
Regional value creation in border regions illustrated by the food industry
Project aims:
The project aims to understand better cross-border value creation and its role within multi-scale economic dynamics. Thereby, it combines two prominent strands of research in human geography: On the one hand, it refers to Border Studies, which has analysed events in border areas in many different ways in recent years. However, small-scale economic geography aspects have so far been given little attention. On the other hand, the project adopts an economic geography perspective. The transnational perspective is also present in the debate on global production networks (GPN). However, within these debates the focus is more on the transnational and global scale rather than the regional.
Relevance:
Yet, particularly in Europe, an understanding of cross-border value creation is of fundamental relevance:
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- European integration: The political aim of equal living conditions in all subregions, especially in border regions (social, economic, and territorial cohesion) can only be achieved by reducing the barrier effects of national borders.
- Supply chain disruptions: Crisis-related developments caused by events like the COVID-19 pandemic or the war in Ukraine have underlined the interconnectedness and vulnerabilities of cross-border economic (non-)integration. In particular, this concerned the food sector, cross-border trade, or commuting.
Empirically, the project is embedded in the field of agri-food studies. Several case studies are currently conducted:
- Beer Value Chain in the Czech-Republic and Bavaria
- Soy Value Chain in Austria and Bavaria
- Pork Value Chain in the Netherlands in North-Western Germany
Hannah Paul
Department Geographie und Geowissenschaften
Institut für Geographie
- Telefon: +49 9131 85-22462
- E-Mail: hannah.paul@fau.de
Carola Sommer, geb. Wilhelm
Department Geographie und Geowissenschaften
Institut für Geographie
- Telefon: +49 9131 85-23574
- E-Mail: carola.wilhelm@fau.de
Prof. Dr. Tobias Chilla
Institut für Geographie
Professur für Geographie (Prof. Dr. Chilla )
- Telefon: +49 9131 85-23308
- E-Mail: tobias.chilla@fau.de
- Programme duration: 2024-2026 (36 months)
- Funding body: DFG, German Research Foundation