uneven development

On a multitude of scales, the condition of an economy which has not benefited equally from development either in a spatial sense and/or within classes in society.

Despite globalization, business development is still very uneven within the UK, because of local transaction costs, variations in institutional thickness, agglomeration, external and urbanization economies, and the continued importance of face-to-face contacts. Transport costs, despite conventional teaching, are still important (Bennett, Graham, and Bratton, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 24).

Peripheral location appears to affect economic development strongly in China. Wei (Geography 84) has shown that the per capita gross value of industrial output of the coastal provinces, such as Guangdong, was double that of provinces deep inland, such as Xizang.

Global uneven development may be seen to be a result of capitalism, based as it is on competition and accumulation (see postmodernity), but it is not unique to capitalism.