Meet Andrea Caragliu, the new Editor-in-Chief of Regional Science Policy and Practice

Andrea Caragliu is Associate Professor of Regional and Urban Economics at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, where he acts as Coordinator of the Ph.D. programme in Architecture, Built Environment, and Construction Engineering. His work focuses on agglomeration economies, macroeconometric regional growth, cross-border regions, and smart urban development.

Assoc. Prof. Caragliu was appointed as Editor-in-Chief of Regional Science Policy and Practice, a journal of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI), in January 2025. Previously, he had acted as Executive Director of the RSAI and joined several Horizon/FP, DG Regio, and ESPON projects as partner/principal investigator.

What inspired your interest in Regional and Urban Economics?

As a young graduate in Economics, I started to focus on growth issues – and, as pointed out by Nobel Laureate Robert Lucas in the hyper-cited 1988 JME paper, “The consequences for human welfare involved in questions like [those related to growth] are simply staggering: Once one starts to think about them, it is hard to think about anything else.” Later, upon applying for a post-doc position at Politecnico, I discovered a world of colleagues who focused on the spatial breakdown of the economic outcomes that are determined by the rational decision of consumers and firms to locate in a place, due to the net benefits expected from this decision.

As the new Editor-in Chief of Regional Science Policy & Practice, what is your vision for the journal?

Let me take a chance here to highlight the recent Editorial that the new Team (André Chagas, Hee-Jung Jun, Neil Reid, Terciane Sabadini Carvalho, and myself) have just published in issue 1/2025. Now that the journal is gold open access since January 2024, all articles published in RSPP, the Editorial included, are fully accessible to everybody.

The two previous Editorial Boards, in particular the Editors-in-Chief, Michael Carroll and Tomaz Dentinho, did a terrific job. The journal has grown in terms of the number of submissions, average quality of the papers published, and overall impact. Still, there is always room for improvement. Our top priority now is to strengthen the journal’s identity. We want to make RSPP the reference journal of the best papers on regional policies, as well as on the regional impacts of space-blind policies, for all disciplines.

This first goal walks hand in hand with a further effort to raise the bar of the average quality of the papers published in Regional Science Policy & Practice, to better serve the RSAI community and regional science stakeholders globally.

As challenging as these goals may seem, we look forward to your support in making them happen. Please send your best spatial policy papers to RSPP and let us all make it the reference journal in the field of regional and urban policies.

What makes Regional Science Policy & Practice unique?

Regional Science Policy & Practice is among the very few journals explicitly focusing on regional and urban policies. The Editorial Team have been carefully selected to provide authors with a high quality and speedy review process, constructive comments, and the use of an inclusive language. RSPP is open to everyone, and we look forward to receiving high quality papers on regional and urban policies from all backgrounds.

All the above, combined with the global regional science community’s commitment to the discipline, make the Editorial Team believe that authors who decide to submit to RSPP over the next couple of years will benefit from the journal’s ongoing growth – in terms of impact, indexation, and the possibility to influence policy debates.

What are the hot topics in the field right now? Are there any themes on which you are particularly looking forward to receiving submissions?

While the focus on policies may suggest that RSPP occupies a relatively small niche in the scientific landscape, I am convinced that the continuous developments in new policies, as reactions to an ever-changing landscape, will provide countless sources of inspiration for regional scientists. One aspect that is haunting regional scientists, urban economists, and geographers globally is the changing interest in spatial policies. Rising global geopolitical tensions are forcing many countries to increase their budget on defense items, while less funding seems to be available to policies that not only focus on places as a means to offset the negative impacts of space-blind policies, but also target places as triggers of bottom-up development. I would also like to stress that the very concept of space-blind policy is tricky, as it seems to suggest that you may enact policies that exert equal effects all over different regions, while everything we do has a set of potential spatial consequences we should not ignore. So, plenty of food for thought!

Have you got any advice for researchers who wish to publish their paper in Regional Science Policy & Practice?

Think about policy experiments that have a potential spatial breakdown, or of policies that target regions and cities, and use the best empirical methods (be they quantitative or qualitative – and we welcome practice papers, too!) to find counterintuitive results, capable of influencing the policy agenda.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/regional-science-policy-and-practice/about/news/meet-andrea-caragliu-the-new-editor-in-chief-of-regional-science-policy-and-practice?utm_campaign=STMJ_1740741656_SC&utm_medium=BAN&utm_source=WEB&dgcid=STMJ_1740741656_SC

The APDR invites regional scientists, economists, sociologists, geographers, urban planners, policy makers, and researchers of related disciplines to participate in the 32^nd APDR Congress with the theme "Sustainable Transformation and Spatial Interaction of People and Places: Urban and Rural Landscapes for mobility, migration and tourism" that will be held from 10 to 11 of July, 2025, at the Universidade Portucalense (UPT), Porto, Portugal.

On July 8 and 9, 2025, just before the main conference, a Sustainable Regional Development Academy will be organized for a limited number participants at the Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Porto, Portugal.

The call for Abstracts and Applications are open and your participation is very welcome!

Deadline for Abstracts submissions: April 2, 2025. Authors should submit their abstracts through online submission system by following the link https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/APDR2025

Deadline for Academy Applications: May 15, 2025. More information at https://www.apdr.pt/congresso/2025/academy.html

All information at the congress website: http://www.apdr.pt/congresso/2025.

Looking forward to meeting you in Porto, Portugal!

The Organizing Committee and the Board of APDR

32^nd APDR Congress

Decision by the Evaluation Committee: June 30, 2025

AISRe supports the development of early career researchers (scholars younger than 35 years and who have received their PhD certificate no more than three before the application deadline) by granting a scholarship for a research visiting period in a hosting research institution in the European (EU27 + UK) territory.

ERSA and the Jury of the ERSA Prize Committee are pleased to announce that the ERSA Prize in Regional Science 2025 has been awarded to Professor Michael Storper.

Prof. Storper is Centennial Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is also an affiliated scholar at the Centre de Sociologie des Organisations at Sciences-Po in Paris, as well as at the Department of Urban Planning in the School of Public Affairs at UCLA. He has also been recipient of various awards and scientific recognitions in Europe and in the US. His research expertise covers several fields including Cities and regions; Economic development; Economic geography; Globalization; Technological change. He published several seminal contributions in major peer-reviewed journals as well as authored various books. His scientific contributions have spread innovative ideas and deep insights on the effective strategies to develop metropolitan regions around the globe. Professor Storper is an active member of the regional science community, as organizer/co-organizer or member in the international advisory board of many high-quality scientific events, member of editorial board of regional science journals, etc. In 2022 he delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 61st ERSA Congress in Pecs, Hungary.

The ERSA Prize in Regional Science 2025 will be delivered on 29 August during the Closing Session of 64th ERSA Congress (August 26-29 2025).

Dear colleagues,

Before presenting the congress, we would like to highlight some important details:

1. The congress will take place in October.
2. To simplify procedures, the previous round of communication summaries has been eliminated, so the extended communications or summaries will be the documents to be evaluated by the Scientific Committee.

1. The submission date is brought forward to June 13. In this way, a response can be given by June 30, and travel and registration for the congress can be organized before July 15 (prior to the summer holidays).

1. The virtual option will be maintained to encourage international participation, although we encourage presence as an ideal formula.

1. In relation to the Juan Ramón Cuadrado Young Researcher Award, the participation of any researcher under 33 years of age or whose doctoral thesis defense has been carried out at most two years prior to the date of the congress’s celebration is permitted.

The Spanish and Basque Country and Navarre Associations of Regional Science cordially invite you to participate in the XLIX International Conference on Regional Science, which will be held from the 15th to the 17th of October 2025 at the Pamplona Campus of the University of Navarra at the School of Business and Economics.

As with previous editions, the International Conference on Regional Science is a multidisciplinary forum that offers an overview of regional science and territorial analysis as a starting point. The program will include keynote speeches, panel discussions, and paper presentations. It is the main annual event in Spain for the study, debate, and presentation of academic papers on territorial and regional concepts.

For the XLIX edition, we have chosen the slogan: “Regional Economic Development (RED): In search of improving the Economic, Political and Social Welfare of each Region,” which reflects the importance of addressing, in a comprehensive and participatory manner, the political, social, and economic problems that affect the regions in a context of enhancing economic growth and prosperity of different areas within a country.

RED involves not only attracting labor and capital, improving income, job opportunities, and demographic trends, but also fostering innovation and creativity to help those regions that lag to have sustainable economic growth. In the last decades, we have seen that disadvantages like pollution and insecurity hinder regional economic growth. Therefore, our approach to helping those regions should be integrated, taking all the factors into account.

From a regional perspective, these issues can be tackled through analysis, planning, management, and cooperation. Analysis entails gathering data and information and studying specific processes related to RED. Planning involves designing strategies and policies that promote the efficient and responsible use of regional resources, considering all aspects of a region’s development. Management involves optimizing resources and creating an environment that supports sustainable economic growth. Cooperation involves promoting participation and dialogue among different actors and interests in different territories, as well as seeking agreements and alliances that enhance economic development and provide economic security at intervals throughout different regions.

We aim for the XLIX edition to serve as a forum for discussing the role of regions, cities, and rural areas in addressing the multidimensional challenges of regional economic development. This discussion will take a multidisciplinary approach, covering the economic, social, political, technological, and cultural dimensions of the issue.

We encourage your participation in the XLIX Meeting of Regional Studies. This is a unique opportunity to network with fellow experts and potential collaborators. We hope you enjoy Pamplona, the “city of the thousand titles,” declared a National Historic Artistic Monument. Its defensive walls and Citadel constitute one of Europe´s most interesting and best-preserved Renaissance military complexes.

As in previous editions, the presentation of results of ongoing research work for which a complete article does not exist yet will be accepted. In order for the Scientific Committee to consider the acceptance of said works, the submission of an extended summary with a minimum length of 1,500 words will be required. Here you can find the templates and more information about the congress.

Communications that, in addition to being unpublished, have been made by researchers of no more than 33 years of age or whose doctoral thesis defense has been carried out, at most, two years prior to the date of the congress and are presented as a part of the parallel sessions, they will be eligible for the Juan Ramón Cuadrado Young Researchers Award. The jury in charge of awarding the prize will be the Scientific Committee. The signing authors of the award-winning communication will receive a document accrediting the award and a gift.

Doctoral students who are in the early stages of their doctoral theses and research-oriented master’s students will enjoy a reduced registration fee to access the parallel sessions of the conference and participate in the special sessions for young researchers. In these sessions, you will be able to make a brief presentation of your research ideas.

The Organizing Committee and the Scientific Committee also invite you to propose a Special Session at the Congress. Proposals can be made from today until May 15 and will be disseminated as they are received and approved by the Scientific Committee and the Organizing Committee. The title of the session and the name of the coordinator or coordinators, along with a summary of its content, must be sent to the Congress Secretariat: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. It is recommended to secure at least 4 contributions for each special session. In the case of receiving a high number of works, they will be distributed into several time slots, according to the criteria of the coordinators.

Sincerely. We will be waiting for you in Pamplona,

The Organizing Committee

The Martin Beckmann RSAI Annual Award for the Best Paper in Papers in Regional Science

Winner 2025

RSAI has the great pleasure to announce that the commission for the 2025 Martin Beckmann award composed by the RSAI Fellows Eduardo Haddad (LARSA), Janet Kohlhase (NARSC), Erik Verhoef, (ERSA) and Rosella Nicolini (EiC of PIRS), has completed the selection of the papers published in Papers in Regional Science (PIRS) in 2024..

The commission selected the following article as the recipient of the 2025 Martin Beckmann award

Giorgio Fazio, Sara Maioli, Nirat Rujimora, "Building back greener, levelling-up or both? An assessment of the economic and environmental efficiency transition of UK regions",
Published in Papers in Regional Science, Volume 103, Issue 6, 2024, 100053, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1056819024000733

Motivation:

This contribution tackles the relevant and open question of the implementation of effective policies to achieve two goals at regional level: “building back greener” and “levelling-up”. The approach implemented by the authors is empirical. The setting of reference is the UK regions for the period 2005-2020 and their study relies on an original data sample. The research strategy exploits the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to calculate the regional and environmental efficiency, whereas the computation of the Markov transition probabilities is meant to quantify the regional transition probabilities to improve at least one the two previous efficiencies. Results emphasize that there is a trade-off between the two types of efficiencies for more than half of the regions and that the costs of transition are unequally distributed. Authors also identify that regions are more likely to become efficient in both directions if they are already environmentally efficient. Furthermore, the empirical analysis does not provide evidence of spatial spillovers for the environmental transition process, but they matter for regional economic efficiency.  The final discussion of this contribution is timely and relevant to inspire effective regional policies. Evidence at hand suggests that there is a clear need of strong coordination between place-based policy and national governments to fully achieve the two selected goals.

Job Opportunity at the JRC: Economic Analyst - Digital Innovation 

They are looking for a motivated Economic Analyst to join the JRC Digital Economy Unit in Ispra, Italy. As part of the DIGINNOVA project, you'll analyze digital innovation trends, AI adoption, and their economic impacts — translating insights into EU policy recommendations.

? Deadline: April 14, 2025
? Location: Ispra, Italy

? Vacancy Details

Dear RSAI members,

I hope this email finds you well.

Just a brief message to remind you that every RSAI member has the possibility to nominate candidates for the “RSAI Fellow Award” and the “Peter Nijkamp Research Encouragement Award”.

RSAI Fellows are "distinguished scholars with a proven and recognized research record in the field of Regional Science during a considerable part of their scientific career. Such honoured members of the RSAI are appointed after a careful nomination and selection procedure, based on a broad consultation of the RSAI membership".

The aim of the “Peter Nijkamp Research Encouragement Award” is to recognize “the outstanding potential of an mid-career researcher (in the Field of Regional Science) from a nation in the developing world” in a full time employment position in a university or research institution based in a developing nation in which there is a member section of RSAI, and who has become a Doctor no more than ten (10) years before next December 31^st.

If while reading the previous paragraph, some RSAI member has come to your mind, please consider nominating her/him for this year’s Awards. (Remark: no self-nomination or nomination by RSAI Fellows are allowed).

Candidatures will be screened by dedicated committees. For the “RSAI Fellow Award” the election will be based on the votes of the RSAI Fellows. In the “Peter Nijkamp Research Encouragement Award” a four-person Jury will take the decision.

For more details on these two awards, please visit:

https://www.regionalscience.org/index.php/awards/rsai-fellows.html (RSAI Fellow Award). Deadline Apr. 15^th

https://www.regionalscience.org/index.php/awards/peter-nijkamp-research-award.html (Peter Nijkamp Research Encouragement Award). Deadline May 31^st.

Thank you all in advance for your attention and looking forward to candidacies,

Kind regards,

Ana Viñuela

RSAI Executive Director