Everyday Economic Geographies

This paper makes the case for the conceptual use of the everyday in economic geography. It does this by firstly demonstrating the explanatory potential that lies in attending to the lived experience of economic development and, secondly, the ability of the everyday to occupy a meso-level analytical position that is sensitive to the agency of economic agents without undermining the role of structural forces. As a result of the in-depth, and detailed nature of the everyday, the explanatory powers offered by this initial focus on the micro-scale is useful to those economic geographers wishing to pursue a more qualitative and holistic understanding of the economy and of economic processes. Therefore, this paper contributes to a much longer project in economic geography concerned with broadening how the economy is defined and therefore studied. Specifically, it compliments and builds on the work of economic geographers engaged in practice-orientated research before turning to the work of Henri Lefebvre and Michel de Certeau in demonstrating the analytical richness of the everyday beyond a focus on social practice. In other words, the paper argues the need for economic geography to also attend to the lived experience of everyday life, the meanings and values ascribed to it, and not just socio-economic practices themselves.