Economic geography I: Conjunctures of Big Finance/Big Tech/Big Ag

Abstract

This report centres Bigness. It samples recent work in economic geography and related fields that have developed a deeper understanding of the consolidation and concentration of capital in the economy since the 2000s, examining its drivers, power effects, and geographical manifestations. Adopting a macroeconomic geographic perspective that remains sensitive to the place-based footprints of concentrated capital, I focus particularly on contributions discussing developments in the domains of Big Finance, Big Ag, and Big Tech. These three sectors have become emblematic of particular Bigness issues. They are important not just for empirical reasons, but also because of the world-making/-destruction potential of the leading companies that shape them.