Economic Geography

Economic geography is a traditional direction of our research. We have long been involved in the transformation and development of old industrial regions. Our main focus is on the Moravian-Silesian region, which we compare with analogous regions in the Czech Republic (Ústí region) and abroad (e.g., German Saarland). We are interested in the economic, social, and environmental impacts of the development of old industrial regions: the decline of traditional and the emergence of new sectors/services, foreign investment, population outflow or depopulation, unemployment, brownfield sites, and other aspects. We also focus on non-metropolitan and rural regions that are highly industrialized in Czechia.

Our research today focuses on the sub-areas below:

  • The role of the manufacturing (especially automotive) industry on the development of non-metropolitan and rural regions
  • Supply linkages of industrial firms and their contribution to the development of (rural) regions
  • The importance of traditional industries in old industrial regions
  • The location of knowledge-intensive business services and creative industries in large cities and their centres
  • Economic resilience of regions and regional differences in unemployment during major economic crises, post-crisis scenarios for the recovery of regional economies

Major grant projects

  • GAČR (18-11299S): Paths development in traditional industries in old industrial regions in Czechia: governance, actors, institutions and leadership (2018-2020)
  • GAČR (15-03207S): Economic performance of Central European non-metropolitan regions (2015-2017)
  • SGS (SGS12/PřF/2017): The role of services in development of industrial cities and regions (2017)
  • SGS (SGS09/PřF/2016): Adaptability of industrial cities and regions (2016)

Selected publications

  • ŽENKA, J., SLACH, O., IVAN, I. (2020). Spatial patterns of knowledge-intensive business services in cities of various sizes, morphologies and economies. Sustainability, 12, 5, 1845-2004.
  • HALADA, M., ŽENKA, J. (2020): Microregional patterns of corporate philanthropy: the role of economic structure and regional determinants. Geoscape, 14, 1, 24-35.
  • ŽENKA, J., SLACH, O., PAVLÍK, A. (2019): Economic resilience of metropolitan, old industrial, and rural regions in two subsequent recessionary shocks. European Planning Studies, 27, 11, 2288-2311.
  • ŽENKA, J., SLACH, O., SOPKULIAK, A (2017): Typologie českých nemetropolitních regionů z hlediska faktorů, mechanismů a aktérů regionálního rozvoje. Geografie, 122, 3, 281-309.
  • ŽENKA, J., SLACH, O., KRTIČKA, L., ŽUFAN, P. (2016): Determinants of microregional agricultural labour productivity – evidence from Czechia. Applied Geography, 71, 83-94.
  • PAVLÍNEK, P., ŽENKA, J. (2016): Value creation and value capture in the automotive industry: Empirical evidence from Czechia. Environment and Planning A, 48, 5, 937-959.

Updated: 01. 02. 2022