ABSTRACT

The economy can be conceived as a complex system characterized by interconnected multilayer structures with a spatial dimension. At each layer, different types of decisions or interactions take place involving international or interregional trading partners at the macro-level; institutions, markets and industries at the meso-level; and individual firms and households at the micro-level. Within these structures, the spatial distribution of economic activities evolves over time following complex patterns. These same structures are subject to continuous changes triggered by different types of factors, which test their resilience and their ability to develop and evolve. These concepts were explored by worldwide research as part of a four-year research project. Each of the five articles in this special issue is representative of one of the main fields of analysis of this research network.

摘要

经济可以被认为是一个复杂的系统，其特征是具有空间尺寸的互连多层结构。在每一层，涉及国际或区域间贸易伙伴的宏观层面都会进行不同类型的决策或互动。中观一级的机构，市场和行业；以及微观的个体企业和家庭。在这些结构中，经济活动的空间分布会随着时间的流逝而遵循复杂的模式。这些相同的结构会受到由不同类型的因素触发的持续变化的影响，这将测试它们的弹性以及其发展和进化的能力。在为期四年的研究项目中，这些概念已为全球研究所探索。