Economic geography is the core of José Gaspar’s (THEOMET) research. His contributions offer a deep understanding of the field’s history and innovative insights illuminating the spatial dynamics of economic activity.
In a recent review article, José explores the history of New Economic Geography (NEG). He traces its origins to Paul Krugman’s pioneering contributions, which introduced increasing returns to scale and imperfect competition into spatial economics. José critically evaluates NEG’s reliance on abstract models, highlighting a divide between economists, who often view space as a theoretical construct, and geographers, who see it as historically and socially grounded. He proposes a synthesis combining economic theory’s rigor with the empirical richness of geography, offering a roadmap for advancing the field through interdisciplinary collaboration.
Despite his noteworthy contributions to the history of economic thought, José Gaspar’s true strength lies in technical and innovative modeling. For instance, in a recent contribution in collaboration with Sofia Castro (THEOMET) and João Correia da Silva (THEOMET), José extends Harold Hotelling’s framework to incorporate heterogeneous preferences for location. He demonstrates how individual attachments to home regions—rooted in cultural, historical, or environmental factors—can counteract the forces of economic agglomeration. The study uses mathematical modeling to reveal how preferences shape the spatial distribution of economic activity, even in highly integrated economies. The findings challenge traditional assumptions in NEG and provide actionable insights for regional policy, particularly in addressing disparities between urban and rural areas.
More recently, José has ventured into growth theory, collaborating with Liliana Garrido-da-Silva (FEP), Paulo Vasconcelos (FEP), and Óscar Afonso (MACGROW). Together, they investigate how public goods—such as education and infrastructure—affect economic dynamics. José’s findings highlight how increasing societal concern for public goods can lead to richer economic dynamics, including cycles and multiple equilibria, underscoring the critical role of public policy in fostering sustainable development, particularly in balancing short-term economic growth with long-term social investment.
Currently, José is applying Bifurcation Theory to multi-region economic geography models in order to identify qualitative changes in the spatial distribution of economic activities that arise from shifts in key parameters (e.g., transport costs). His work focuses on analyzing agglomeration patterns and city formation along urban corridors — linear systems of urban areas interconnected by highly developed transport routes. He is especially interested in interdisciplinary collaborations that integrate both theoretical and empirical approaches to economic geographyntrepreneurship is a cornerstone of innovation and economic growth.
