ECONOMIC-GEOGRAPHY AND THEORY OF REGULATI ON - A FRENCH PERSPECTIVE

This article examines the relationship between the economic geography of the 1990s and recent economic theories. After a presentation of the origins of the theory of regulation and convention theory, the relati onship between them and spatial analysis is outlined. The second part of the article develops a typology of contemporary research in spatial economics outlining the key features of the following concepts: indus trial organisation, industrial districts, networks, governance and con ventions. Finally, the paper compares approaches which proceed from an analysis of the local to the global. The conclusion proposes a number of directions for research.