Spatial production systems in economic theory

Approaches of spatial production systems developed over the last 15 years are, on the whole, only loosely connected with economics. With the exception of Alfred Marshall, localized industries do not seem to be a particularly worthy topic for economists. This article, conversely, introduces numerous unknown treatments of spatial production systems. In the pre-Ricardian classical theory, for instance, geographical concentrations of industries had already been dealt with. And the process of industrialization as well as the discourse on the Machinery Question ("Fabrikdiskurs") of the 1830s in Great Britain have highlighted the significance of the geography of production even further. Additional important sources are the German Historial School and the late classical economists. These various lines of ideas converge in Marshall's contribution which defined spatial production systems as self-reproducing economic units and incorporated them into Marshall's price theory. This papers tries to show that the various descriptions of the spatial structure are associated with different concepts of economic equilibrium. These findings in the field of history of economic theory ought be utilized by current practitioners of economic geography in order to clarify the relationship of the discipline with economics. In addition, these findings could help analyzing structural changes in spatial production systems.