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Jacques-François Thisse Professor of Economics and Regional Science at UCLouvain, Belgium

Themis Christophidou Director-General of the European Commission’s Regional and Urban Policy, Belgium

Michael Storper Professor of Economic Geography, London School of Economics, UK

RSPP Paper Award 2025

The Committe, made up of Denise Pumain (ERSA), Kara Kockelman (NARSC), Carlos Azzoni (LARSA), and Neil Reid (NARSC), evaluated five very good papers -pre-selected by the RSPP EiC, Andrea Caragliu- and decided that this year the Award goes to:

Loras-Gimeno, D., Gómez-Bengoechea, G., & Díaz-Lanchas, J. (2024). Fiscal redistribution and the narrowing urban–rural income gap. Regional Science Policy &Practice, 16(5), 100045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100045

The winner was chosen because of its touching upon two very relevant topics for the regional science policy literature, viz. (i.) the role of agglomeration economies in driving territorial income imbalances, and (ii.) whether policies should target territories, rather than individuals.

The paper originally exploits Spanish micro data to show that, in a low density context, the urban-rural income gap decreases as a result of fiscal interventions, while also documenting relevant spatial heterogeneity in the gaps across Spanish regions.

These results offer a significant contribution to the regional science literature dealing with the role of national and regional policies in shaping local welfare levels.

Congratulations to the prize winners on their achievement!

We are excited to call for participants and mentors for the upcoming NERSA/NARSC Program in Mobility, Migration, and Regional Science, June 20, 2025-December 19, 2026, which will explore key theories, methodologies, and applications related to human movement across geographic scales. This workshop will feature keynote lectures on recent evidence-based theories of migration behavior while also addressing recent advances in data sources, analytical methods, and policy implications within diverse spatial and socio-economic contexts.

This program will begin with a virtual keynote lecture by renowned scholar Dr. Bruce Newbold of McMaster University. This will be followed by 7 virtual workshops throughout the summer. The virtual workshops will begin with a review of data and trends in the U.S. and international perspectives. This will be followed by 4 methods workshops on visualization, economic impacts, machine learning, and network analysis. The final workshop will center on policy implications.  After the summer, the program will continue with presentations, social events, and award ceremonies at the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC) 2025 and 2026 annual meetings, as well as additional virtual project meetings. Selected completed project papers will be invited to publish in the well-known regional science journal, Growth and Change.

Confirmed speakers include Dr. David Plane (UA), Dr. Nancy Lozano (World Bank), Dr. Ashish Shenoy (UC Davis), Dr. Kelsey Best (Vanderbilt), Dr. Elijah Knapp (SDSU), and Dr. Kevin Kane (SCAG). 

In addition to calling for participants, we welcome experts to share interests and insights on mobility, migration, and immigration dynamics, covering topics such as concepts and cutting-edge methods used by regional scientists for the study of migration behavior. A key focus of this workshop is fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together early career scholars, senior researchers, and practitioners in a dynamic, engaging, interactive environment.  We also welcome mentors to support early career scholars by providing research feedback, career guidance, and networking opportunities. Whether as a presenter, mentor, or both, this is an excellent opportunity to present cutting-edge research, engage with a diverse cohort, and contribute to critical discussions on emerging trends and policy frameworks that shape human mobility and migration.  

Additionally, we invite ideas from the regional science community to enhance the program’s impact—whether through innovative session formats, new research directions, or collaborative initiatives that bridge research and policy.

Join us in this 18-month cohort-based program that not only advances regional science but also builds a lasting community of scholars dedicated to addressing pressing socio-economic and policy challenges through innovative research. If you are passionate about shaping the next generation of regional scientists, we encourage you to get involved, share your ideas, and help make this workshop a success!

If you are interested in being a participant, please submit your name, affiliation, contact information, and a short bio during the registration process. The program registration fee as a participant is $100, which includes access to all workshop sessions and materials. Payment is required at the time of registration to secure your spot. You can register and pay the fee using a credit card using our secure registration portal at https://narsc.meetingsavvy.net A certificate of completion and an award ceremony will follow upon successful completion of the program.

If you are interested in serving as a mentor or potential presenter, please let us know. You can direct any inquiries or express your interest by contacting Dr. Ting Zhang at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and Dr. Keith Waters at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. An honorarium will be provided in recognition of your valuable contribution.

For further information about the program, please visit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b23U42J_v--LP1t2yyYxzCyjfDZh5PEi/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101955173043268796923&rtpof=true&sd=true. 

Registration Deadline: May 15

Acceptance Notification: June 10

https://meet.google.com/yom-mivu-fzd

REGIONAL STATISTICS, 2025, VOL 15, No 2.

STUDIES

Dear Readers,

We are pleased to say that the 2/2025 issue of Regional Statistics has been published and available online!

CONTENT

Dwi Agus Prastiwi – Khoirunurrofik Khoirunurrofik: The spatial spillover effects of small and medium-sized enterprise clusters and industrial estates on the unemployment rate: evidence from Java

https://www.ksh.hu/statszemle_archive/regstat/2025/2025_02/rs150201.pdf

Patrícia Becsky-Nagy – Balázs Fazekas: What do women want? – role of higher education in shaping female entrepreneurship

https://www.ksh.hu/statszemle_archive/regstat/2025/2025_02/rs150202.pdf

Áron Dénes Hartvig – László Szabó: Regional residential battery storage diffusion pathways in Hungary 

https://www.ksh.hu/statszemle_archive/regstat/2025/2025_02/rs150203.pdf

Hasbi Yasin – Purhadi – Ahmad Choiruddin: Geographically and temporally weighted multivariate generalised gamma regression for modelling three educational indicators in Central Java, Indonesia

https://www.ksh.hu/statszemle_archive/regstat/2025/2025_02/rs150204.pdf

Wencelaus Musyoka Muthama – Zoltán Gál: Role of fiscal decentralisation in poverty reduction: spatio-temporal evidence from Kenya’s devolution framework

https://www.ksh.hu/statszemle_archive/regstat/2025/2025_02/rs150205.pdf

Attila Bányai – Tibor Tatay – Gergő Thalmeiner – László Pataki: Analyzing the impact of geographical diversification on portfolio performance

https://www.ksh.hu/statszemle_archive/regstat/2025/2025_02/rs150206.pdf

Muhammad Arif – Lutfi Mutaʼali – R. Rijanta: Mapping poverty traps in Indonesia: a spatial perspective

https://www.ksh.hu/statszemle_archive/regstat/2025/2025_02/rs150207.pdf

Baurzhan Bokayev – Gulnaz Akhmetova: Evaluation of economic strategies for managing internal migration of Kazakhstani citizens: analysis of regulatory instruments and their effectiveness

https://www.ksh.hu/statszemle_archive/regstat/2025/2025_02/rs150208.pdf

Join us to our social networking sites:

https://www.facebook.com/RegionalStatistics

https://ksh.academia.edu/RegionalStatistics

Dear colleagues,

We want to inform you about the plenary lectures scheduled for October 16th and 17th. Professor Katarzyna Kopczewska, a researcher in the Department of Data Science at the University of Warsaw, will give the first lecture. She researches the modeling of the significance of location for economic, social, and environmental phenomena, using quantitative methods that are specifically tailored to geo-located data, primarily point data. Her research enables the optimization of locations for specific phenomena and entities, analyzing spatial density, agglomeration effects, and diffusion.

The second presentation will be given by Mr. Riccardo Crescenzi, Professor of Geographical Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He has been a European Research Council (ERC) grant holder, leading a major five-year research project on foreign direct investment (FDI), global value chains (GVCs), and their territorial impacts worldwide. He is currently the LSE Principal Investigator of a large collaborative research project funded by Horizon Europe and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on inequalities in the era of global megatrends.

We want to remind you that registration is required to send and manage communications.

Participants who registered last year can use their username and password: https://reunionesdeestudiosregionales.org/pamplona2025/en/user/

If you have forgotten your username and/or password, please click on the following link: https://reunionesdeestudiosregionales.org/pamplona2025/wp-login.php?action=lostpassword.

Please enter your email address to receive a message with instructions on recovering your username and/or password. If you don’t have an account, please register at https://reunionesdeestudiosregionales.org/pamplona2025/en/user/new/

To simplify procedures, the previous round of summaries is eliminated. The Scientific Committee will only evaluate communications and extended summaries. The models can be downloaded at: https://reunionesdeestudiosregionales.org/pamplona2025/en/user/new/.

We encourage you to send your proposals as soon as possible.

The Organizing Committee and Scientific Committee would like to invite you to propose Special Sessions until May 16th. To submit your proposal, you need to send the title of the Special Session, along with the name(s) of the coordinator(s) and a summary in both Spanish and English to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We are eagerly awaiting your arrival in Pamplona. Sincerely,

The Organizing Committee