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Book Re iew: Policies and S a egies in Ma ginal Regions : Summa y and E alua ions
© 2005 Copy igh (2005) THE AUTHORS. Published by Else ie B.V.
Published e sion
Hi onen, Ta u
Hi onen, T. (2005). Book Re iew: Policies and S a egies in Ma ginal Regions : Summa y and
E alua ions. Pape s in Regional Science, 84(1), 142-144. h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/j.1435-
5957.2005.00009_4.x
2005
chap e highligh s he di e si y o ma ke s uc u es ha exis and he di e en
ways in which anspo policy has e ol ed in di e en anspo sec o s and coun-
ies. A inal chap e d aws oge he he a ious ecommenda ions a ising o
anspo policy om he economic p inciples add essed in he book. Reasons o
di e gence be ween heo y and p ac ice a e iden i ied. Recogni ion o ins i u ional
ac o s which p o ide he con ex o anspo policy, an imp o emen o ou
unde s anding o he link be ween anspo and spa ial planning, oge he wi h a
ho ough unde s anding o he economics o anspo , a e key ac o s a gued o
be impo an in inding e ec i e solu ions o cu en anspo p oblems.
P inciples o T anspo Economics succeeds in p o iding a igo ous ea men
o anspo economics. I shows how economic heo y can be applied o he ans-
po sec o and p o ides a se o ools o analyse and in o m policy. Th oughou
he ex he e is a good balance be ween heo e ical ma e ial, empi ical e idence
and policy which makes i pa icula ly s imula ing. O e all, he book o e s a
weal h o in o ma ion.
To ake ull ad an age o he book, some p io expe ise is equi ed and, as
he au ho s poin ou , eade s should ideally ha e an in e media y le el o eco-
nomics. Howe e , he policy and empi ical sec ions as well as he less echnical
pa s o he book should be easily accessible and o in e es o anyone wo king
in he ield o anspo , ei he as academic, p ac i ione o policy make . To acil-
i a e he eading o non-economis s, he au ho s ha e placed he mo e echnical
ma e ial in boxes h oughou he ex . These can be skipped wi hou loss o he
main a gumen , bu s ill p o ide he in e es ed eade wi h he mo e ad anced
aspec s o he ma e ial. P inciples o T anspo Economics should also p o e
use ul as an excellen cou se ex o ad anced s uden s.
Adelheid Holl
Depa men o Town and Regional Planning, Uni e si y o She ield
She ield, UK
Policies and S a egies in Ma ginal Regions: Summa y and E alua ions.
Wal e Leimg ube , Rose Majo al and Chul-Woo Lee (eds). Alde sho : Ashga e
Publishing Limi ed 2003. 400 pp. $ 99.95/£ 55. ISBN 0 7546 3627 5
Take he e en s o 9–11 and he g owing economic inequali y, hen mix and bake,
and you’ll ha e se e al smoking ‘buns’ o p o e ha ma ginali y is back on he
agenda. The edi o s o his olume a gue ha he de as a ing e en s on 9–11
showed us in he mos ho i ic o m wha despe a e people can do when ma gin-
alized. Now, shouldn’ ha be enough o make ma ginali y he new pos -9–11
buzzwo d o egional de elopmen and esea ch? A leas I am willing o aise
my hand in he accep ance ha all hings ma ginal ma e – and possibly mo e
han e e .
Since he book does no , a leas no o any g ea leng h, deal wi h he ques-
ion o why ma ginali y esea ch is impo an , I am bound o belie e ha mos
eade s who decide o pick up his book ake ha as gi en. I would go as a as
142 Book e iews
o a gue ha many o hem, amilia wi h he hemes add essed in his book,
app oach ma ginali y wi h a mo al mindse , and do no conside i na owly. And
hey a e igh in doing so.
The mo al o he s o y, o o ma ginali y, is ha we should be conce ned. And
as such, scien is s should do hei pa in inding ou how o help sol ing he
p oblem o ma ginaliza ion in i s many o ms. A e all, mo e han wo hi ds o
he wo ld’s popula ion su e s om i e e y day. Indeed, o i s uni e sali y we
could a gue ha ma ginali y should be he mains eam o all de elopmen
esea ch. Ins ead, i has been b ushed aside. Like a sel - ul illing p ophecy i has
been, well, ma ginalized. Un o una ely, his book will no change ha . A e he
agic e en s o 9–11 and ye ano he book on his ield, ma ginali y will s ill be
he hushwo d a he han he buzzwo d o egional de elopmen and esea ch.
The six h olume in he Ma ginal Regions Se ies published by Ashga e (in
associa ion wi h he IGU – Dynamics o Ma ginal and C i ical Regions), p esen s
a selec ion o 29 a icles d awn om wo IGC mee ings held in Seoul du ing he
summe o 2000. The selec ion in ends o co e he ull scope o cu en esea ch
and deba es on he opics o ma ginali y and ma ginal egions. The book’s main
ene is o show how, in he pas ew yea s, he ange o hemes has widened.
Ma ginali y is no longe limi ed o pu ely economic conside a ions, bu now
encompasses a wide a ie y o subjec s such as cul u e, socie y, geopoli ics and
he en i onmen . Mo eo e , when conside ed spa ially, he con ex s and scales o
ma ginali y a y om u ban o u al, om local o egional, and om na ional o
global.
The book is di ided in o i e main sec ions. Economic aspec s and scales o
ma ginali y a e discussed a he beginning o he book. The ollowing sec ion en i-
led “Managemen , Policies and Conse a ion” p esen s some speci ic s a egies
a emp ing o educe ma ginali y in Eu opean moun ain egions, EU’s u al a eas,
in bo de egions o Spain and Po ugal, in Kyongbuk p o ince in Ko ea, Bahia
in B azil, Galicia in Spain and Wes e n Aus alia. The sec ion on se lemen
dynamics ela es o u ban/semi-u ban ma ginaliza ion in Hunga ia (u ban
ne wo k), Ca alonia, Ha a e in Zimbabwe and in he communal illages o he
Middle Eas and No h A ica. Some e y in e es ing in e p e a ions o he
p oblem o ma ginali y a e discussed in a sec ion en i led “Pe cep ion and Awa e-
ness”. The las g ouping o a icles app oaches ma ginali y in di e en socio-
cul u al con ex s.
This is de ini ely a esea che ’s book. As a summa y o se e al yea s o wo k,
i s scope o issues, me hods and con ibu o s is indeed wide. I de ini ely is no a
basic in oduc o y ex on he subjec . No was i in ended o be such a book.
The e o e, I ecommend his book o esea che s al eady amilia wi h he issues
o ma ginali y and in e es ed in cu en deba es in he schola ly communi y.
Howe e , I am a aid ha esea che s who a e looking o new leads, inno a i e
me hodology o new a enues o u u e esea ch, will be disappoin ed. Simila ly,
his book does no ha e much o o e o eade s looking o conclusi e policy
p oposals and insigh ul s a egies. In he end, o all ha ma ginali y esea ch
should be wo h, he eade may ac ually eel le down. Tha said, he e a e some
a icles which excel and a e de ini ely wo h a close pe usal. Pa icula ly ecom-
Book e iews 143
mendable a e Leimg ube ’s chap e on “ma ginali y and di e si y”, Capella and
Fon ’s chap e en i led “So – o une smiles on he ma gins”, and Meh e u,
Pigozzi and Somme s’s empi ical analysis o spa ial ma ginali y in Michigan.
As inal ques ion we may ask whe he he book is an illus a i e accoun o
ma ginali y. Mos de ini ely. Is i an in-dep h summa y o ma ginaliza ion
p ocesses and policies o e adica e ma ginali y? I am a aid no .
Ta u Hi onen
School o Business and Economics, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä
Jy äskylä, Finland
144 Book e iews