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 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
  • Technological transition and its socio-economic impacts 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

Selected publications

  • KURNIA, AA., RUSTIADI, E., FAUZI, A., PRAVITASARI, AE., ŽENKA, J. (2023): Probing Regional Disparities and Their Characteristics in a Suburb of a Global South Megacity: The Case of Bekasi Regency, Jakarta Metropolitan Region. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 12, 2, 32.
  • KURNIA, AA., RUSTIADI, E., FAUZI, A., PRAVITASARI, AE., SAIZEN, I., ŽENKA, J. (2022): Understanding industrial land development on rural-urban land transformation of Jakarta megacity’s outer suburb. Land, 11, 5, 670.
  • ŽENKA, J., KOFROŇ, J., PERNICA, B. (2021): The geography of demilitarisation. Do regional economic disparities affect the spatial distribution of military base closures? Moravian Geographical Reports, 29, 4, 252-266.
  • ŽENKA, J., CHRENEKOVÁ, M., KOKEŠOVÁ, L., SVETLÍKOVÁ, V. (2021): Industrial Structure and Economic Resilience of Non-Metropolitan Regions, An Empirical Base for the Smart Specialization Policies. Land, 10, 2, 1335.
  • ŽENKA, J., KRTIČKA, L., PASZOVÁ, L., PUNDOVÁ, T., ŽENKOVÁ RUDINCOVÁ, K., ŠŤASTNÁ, S., SVETLÍKOVÁ, V. A MATULA, J. (2021): Micro-Geographies of Information and Communication Technology Firms in a Shrinking Medium-Sized Industrial City of Ostrava (Czechia). Land. 10, 7, 695-724.
  • ŽENKA, J., ŠŤASTNÁ, S., PAVLÍK, A. (2021): The role of the manufacturing industry in the development of rural regions: evidence from a highly industrialized Moravian region. Moravian Geographical Reports, 29, 1, 39-52.
  • 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.

Updated: 31. 05. 2023