The Global Conference on Economic Geography (GCEG) will take place from 24 to 28 July at the University of Cologne. It is the central forum for economic geography and all disciplines concerned with regional dynamics in the global economy. After Singapore in 2000, Beijing (2007), Seoul (2011) and Oxford (2015), the conference will be held in Germany for the first time. ‘We are delighted that this international conference is taking place in Cologne this year’, says Peter Dannenberg from the University’s Institute of Geography, who is hosting the conference in Cologne with a team of organizers. ‘Renowned scientists will discuss the topic of global inequalities, their causes and possible solutions.’

Date:
24 to 28 July 2018
‘Fifth Global Conference on Economic Geography – Dynamics in an Unequal World’
University of Cologne, Arts and Humanities Building (Philosophikum), Universitätsstrasse 41, 50931 Cologne

Eight hundred participants from more than fifty countries will attend. During the five-day conference, seven hundred talks will be held on the topic of ‘Dynamics in an Unequal World’ and discussed in plenary forums. The talks and discussions will be in English. Journalists are kindly asked to register with Professor Martina Fuchs (fuchs@wiso.uni-koeln.de) in advance, preferably by 24 July, if you are interested in attending or interviewing speakers. 

Renowned scientists from all over the world discuss solutions

Michael Storper (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, and University of California, USA) will contribute to ‘The Geographical Roots of Inequality and The Future of the Liberal International Order’. He takes a critical look at the role of the USA in the current tensions between the USA, China and Europe. In 2014, Storper was nominated by Thomson Reuters as one of the ‘World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds’ in the twenty-first century. His publications are among the top one percent of the most cited contributions in the social sciences.

Stephanie Barrientos (University of Manchester, UK) is an expert on global value chains and fair trade. In her talk, she will focus on food production and the often unacceptable working conditions in developing and emerging economies. One of her research areas is the cocoa–chocolate value chain.

Kenneth Matengu (University of Namibia), Tomomi Tanaka (The World Bank, USA) and Fabrice Murtin (OECD Statistics Directorate, France) will discuss populist movements that exploit social inequality for their interests in the session ‘Poverty and Inequality: Trends, Drivers, Policy Options’.

The conference is organized and hosted jointly by the Institute of Geography and the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne. The German Research Foundation (DFG) financially supports the implementation of the GCEG. 

Here you can find further information on the programme of Global Conference on Economic Geography.