'Left-Behind Places' – Added Value or Fuzzy Concept? Insights from a Systematic Literature Review

Keywords: left behind places, places that don’t matter, discontent, regional inequalities, populism, economic geography
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

While economic geography for a long time primarily has focused on the development of so-called success regions, various developments have recently led to an increased occupation with “left-behind places”. As a result, the related body of literature has grown significantly. Taking this as a starting point, this paper seeks to critically reflect upon the added value of the concept of “left-behind places” for research in economic geography. To achieve this, we systematically elaborate on (1) the conditions leading to its emergence and its reception in the literature in the course of time, (2) its prevalent content and relevant contexts of application as well as on (3) crucial insights of existing studies. Based on a content analysis of more than 100 articles published in academic journals, we show that the concept of left-behind places has many overlaps with existing approaches and therefore advocate applying it more carefully and circumspectly in future studies.

JEL Codes. D6, O15, P36, R2