Take the train to Beijing!

While it's still almost a full year away, it's never too early to plan your trip to the RSA's Global Conference in Beijing China in June! For those of us in Europe, why try and get a deal on one of those budget airlines when you can go in style via train! Yes, it is possible to travel those thousands of kilometres using European and Trans-Siberian railway routes, although I hope you aren't in any hurry!

After departing for Russia, a leisurely train ride to Moscow hooks you up with the Trans-Siberian railway. From there you can choose from one of two routes, the Trans-Mongolian line (completed in the 1950s) via Mongolia or the Trans-Manchurian line (built around 1900). Trains 3 and 4 via Mongolia use Chinese rolling stock and trains 19 and 20 via Manchuria use Russian rolling stock. Both trips take six days and pass through a myriad of country-side towns and villages.

Have a look at the scenery along a section of the route below, or even better explore the virtual journey created by Russian Railways on Google Maps.

See you in Beijing 2012!

Broadband Internet for Every Aussie

The Australian Government has been trying to roll out a national broadband network throughout the country, the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by the country. The goal is to lay fibre optic cabling to 93 per cent of Australian homes, schools and businesses, in order to provide broadband speeds of up to 100 megabits per second, with the rest of the country connected by wireless and satellite technology.

The network is expected to cost A$35.9 billion to construct over a 10-year period with the government investing A$27.5 billion. The government set up a private corporation to build and operate the network, with retail providers selling internet access to consumers. Government funds invested in the network are projected to be repaid by 2034, although these projections may be overly optimistic.
The national broadband network is currently being rolled out in Tasmania along with mainland sites selected in around 12,200 premises in Brunswick, Aitkenvale, Mundingburra, Minnamurra, Kiama Downs, Armidale and Willunga. While the plan has been controversial due to its costs and construction deadlines, the provision of a national broadband network through the country raises questions about the impact of the network on the economy, mobility, and knowledge creation. Will the network result in higher business productivity? more work-from-home employees? expansion of creative industries? or just faster download speeds for people looking to play video games online?

Southern Europe and the debt crisis

Much has been written in recent years about the financial crisis that has affected Southern Europe (and Ireland). Most of it however has focused on macroeconomic factors such as deficits and debt and little has been said about the more structural economic conditions that led these countries to the brink of financial ruin. A forthcoming paper by Hadjimichalis (2011) provides a key contribution to this debate, using an economic geographical approach to highlight the geographically uneven patterns of economic development in the EU.

As discussed by the author it would be wrong to ignore these nations’ internal problems, such as the misuse of structural funds or bad governance. However, it is also important to understand how these factors have been magnified by the creation of the Euro Zone, which has disproportionately benefited countries at its core. The figure below illustrates the extent of this problem.

Source: Hadjimichalis (2011)

The loss of competitiveness for countries in Southern Europe is mostly a result of rising labour unit costs. On the other hand in places such as Germany increasing competitiveness has been achieved at the expense of working class incomes. The product of these imbalances has been negative trade balances, as the next figure shows.

Source: Hadjimichalis (2011)

Overall Hadjimichalis (2011) explores the importance of external and structural factors in the current crisis and argues that economic geography has not been capable of providing useful contributions to this debate as a result of its focus on a narrow range of local factors as the sources of economic success. This paper is therefore both an informed discussion of the current economic crisis and a reflection on the shortcomings of existing theoretical frameworks.

Reference
Hadjimichalis, C. (2011) Uneven geographical development and socio-spatial justice and solidarity: European regions after the 2009 financial crisis, European Urban and Regional Studies, 18 (3), pp. 254-274