RSA Events 2024: Global Financial Network (GFN) and Global Production Network (GPN) Workshop

Financial Geographies (FinGeo)

The key objectives of the FinGeo Network are to promote and stimulate diversity, innovation and excellence in this field of research; facilitate collaboration and sharing of research outputs on a global basis; influence private and public strategy and policy; and contribute to a broader public debate on the role of finance in the world. To realise these aims, the core activities of the Network include the collation and dissemination of research outputs in diverse forms, information on research initiatives, funding and collaboration opportunities, datasets, and other research and teaching materials. FinGeo activities also include organising events and promoting research through online presence, social media and various forms of engagement with stakeholders beyond academia. As such, FinGeo operates as a global umbrella network for existing and future research networks, groups and individuals, projects, events and other activities that sustain and promote research on financial geography and its benefits for society. As an interdisciplinary network, FinGeo is open to researchers from various backgrounds, including financial and economic geography, finance and business studies, economics, sociology, anthropology, political science, urban and regional studies, planning, environmental studies, and development studies.

The origins of FinGeo go back to the Geographies of Finance and Post-Socialist Transformations Research Network, organised by Martin Sokol, Zoltan Gál, Tim Heinemann and Dariusz Wójcik in 2010-13 and funded by the Regional Studies Association. Three international seminars were held during that period:

These events led to many fruitful research collaborations and resulted in an email-list with over 100 members, which continued to grow and function as a basis for a newsletter, led by Martin Sokol throughout 2014.

In 2015, the idea was born to create the Global Network on Financial Geography (FinGeo) as an umbrella network that could build on, support, and transcend individual, often regionally focused, research networks with fixed-term funding. The FinGeo concept was launched publicly by a group of financial geographers led by Dariusz Wójcik and Martin Sokol on 20 August 2015 during the Fourth Global Conference on Economic Geography in Oxford.

FinGeo report on 2024 Global Financial Network (GFN) and Global Production Network (GPN) Workshop

On March 2-3, the “2024 Global Financial Network (GFN) and Global Production Network (GPN) Workshop” was successfully organised by the Beijing Normal University, with support from the RSA-funded Research Network on Financial Geographies (FinGeo), the RSA’s China Division and Finance and Space.

The workshop was held in Zhuhai, China, and 22 researchers from 7 countries and 15 universities and institutions were brought together to study GFN or GPN. Through 19 reports on the theoretical and empirical research of GFN and GPN, participants exchanged and delved into some core concepts such as Risk and Finance, Strategic Coupling, Value and Wealth, and Embeddedness, as well as advanced topics such as Fintech, industrial shifting and upgrading, and GFN and GPN interaction.

Focusing on the theme of dialogue between GFN and GPN, the workshop provided a platform for the dialogue of leading academic experts and emerging academic researchers in GFN, GPN, and the global economy. The diverse perspectives and engaging discussions laid a good foundation for the future integration of global production networks and global financial network research.

Participants:

  • David Bassens, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
  • Sabine Dörry, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Luxembourg
  • Tianlan Fu, Guangdong University of Technology, China
  • Wenying Fu, Northumbria University, UK
  • Emma Galbraith, University of Cologne, Germany
  • Yulan Guo, Hong Kong Baptist University, China
  • Xiaohui Hu, Nanjing Normal University, China
  • Kaixuan Huang, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • Karen Lai, Durham University, UK
  • Yutian Liang, Sun Yat-sen University, China
  • Yue Lin, Beijing Normal University, China
  • Yi Liu, Sun Yat-sen University, China
  • Fenghua Pan, Beijing Normal University, China
  • Javier Revilla Diez, University of Cologne, Germany
  • Yuefang Si, East China Normal University, China
  • Thomas Sigler, University of Queensland, Australia
  • Chen Wang, Zhejiang University, China
  • Junsong Wang, East China Normal University, China
  • Dariusz Wójcik, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • Kangmin Wu, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, China
  • Chun Yang, Hong Kong Baptist University, China
  • Henry Wai-Chung Yeung, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Photos

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