Dear NECTAR friends,

The deadline for submission of abstracts to the NECTAR Cluster 8 workshop on “Big data: a new opportunity for urban transport and mobility policies” has been extended. The organizers are accepting abstracts till the 31^st of January, 2016. Please find enclosed the updated call for papers.

Best wishes,

Ana Condeço-Melhorado

NECTAR secretary

Dear NECTAR friends,

The deadline for submission of abstracts to the NECTAR Cluster 8 special session on “Mobile phones, travel and transportation” at the Mobile Tartu International Conference has been extended. The organizers are accepting abstracts till the 29th of January, 2016. Please find enclosed the updated call for papers.

Best wishes,

Ana Condeço-Mehorado

NECTAR secretary

Job opportunity for a Senior Research Assistant based in the School of Computing, Engineering and Science at the University of South Wales and funded by the ESRC (WISERD Civil Society).

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AMQ294/senior-research-assistant-wiserd/

The post is funded for 3 years from April 2016 in the first instance and the appointed person will be part of a pan-university ESRC-funded research programme focusing on Civil Society (WISERD) with the principal aim of deriving small area estimates of social capital in Wales.

Further details regarding the post can be found at:

https://jobs.southwales.ac.uk/vacancies/2577/senior_research_assistant_wiserd

The closing date is 22^nd January 2016. Informal enquiries should be made to Professor Gary Higgs (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

ERSA/RSAI Workshop 2015 Barcelona Workshop on Regional and Urban Economics:

Spatial Perspectives of Human Capital

November 26^th-27^th 2015, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Barcelona,

On November, 26^th and 27^th 2015, AQR-IREA hosted the ERSA/RSAI Workshop 2015 Barcelona Workshop on Regional and Urban Economics on Spatial Perspectives of Human Capital at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Barcelona. The workshop benefited from the support of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) and the European Regional Science Association (ERSA).

Several cutting-edge research papers focused on the interconnections between Space and Human Capital were presented in Barcelona by both Senior and Young researchers. Overall, around 60 scholars and researchers attended the workshop. Its aim was to bring together researchers in urban and regional economics, as well as in other interrelated disciplines such as labour and education economics. This year the AQR’s workshop was focused on the broad concept of human capital and its interrelations with space play a fundamental role.

In the sixth edition of the AQR’s workshop, among the presenters, we had the pleasure to host up to six PhD students from different European Institutions. They presented and discussed their works with senior researchers in the field. Thanks to the financial support of the RSAI’s “Nurturing New Talent Initiative”, the workshop covered all expenses of talented young researchers and fostered their participation in this unique international scientific meeting.

Over two days twelve exciting and high quality papers were scheduled. Together with researchers from several countries, Stephen Gibbons (Department of Geography and Environment, SERC and CEP, LSE) contributed to the workshop with a Keynote Speech where he showed his worldwide recognized expertise on the topic.

On the 26^th, the agenda of the event started with an opening ceremony, chaired by the vice-dean of research of the University of Barcelona, Dr. Jesús Marín. The Director of the AQR Research Group, Dr. Enrique López-Bazo and the coordinator of the workshop, Dr. Antonio Di Paolo, introduced the workshop to all attendants.

The first contributed session was focused on “schools and neighbourhoods” and included two presentations, by Marco Bertoni (Università degli Studi di Padova) and Konstantinos Tatsiramos (University of Nottingham), respectively. Next, the second contributed session was centred on the issue of mobility of human capital and comprised three works on the topic, which were presented by Massimiliano Bratti Università degli Studi di Milano), Umut Turk (a PhD student at the University of Verona) and Elise Brezis (Bar-Ilan University).

In the third session we had two papers on the strictly related issue of migration, which were presented by a PhD candidate at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute, Zhiling Wang, and by a very recent PhD graduated from Università degli Studi Sapienza, Dr. Stefania Borelli. The fourth and last contributed session of the day covered research issue that go beyond the labour market. Specifically, Ylenia Brilli (University of Gothenburg) presented a paper on the relationship between education and crime across Italian regions, while Rui Dang (a PhD student at RWI) presented a work on the effect of education on health.

On the 27^th, the workshop started with the presentation of the 2015 Keynote Speaker, Stephen Gibbons (Department of Geography and Environment, SERC and CEP, LSE), who gave a very interesting talk about one of the many issues that he covered in his research activities: the estimation of neighbourhood effects on education and human capital formation. After reviewing some of the existing evidence on the issue that was presented in his previous works, Professor Gibbons highlighted the main empirical challenging in the estimation of neighbourhood effects and then concluded discussing some recent results obtained by other researchers. The fifth and last contributed session contained three papers related to issues of agglomeration and spatial sorting, which were presented by Joan Monràs (Sciences Po), Francesco Berlingeri (PhD student at ZEW) and Anja Rossen (PhD student at HWWI).

The ERSA/RSAI 2015 Barcelona Workshop on Regional and Urban Economics has been, in our view, not only a success but also a further step towards the expansion of high impact activities of Regional Science. This year’s meeting has also achieved the key objective of Nurturing Talent by investing in the next generation of Regional Scientists.

More detailed information about this last edition of the workshop is available at the website: http://www.ub.edu/aqr/anterior/workshop2015/ .

We hope to meet you again in Barcelona for the 2016 edition, which will be focused on another hot topic related with Urban and Regional Economics.    

Call for Papers

11th World Congress of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI)

April 25-28, 2016, Istanbul, Turkey

The Regional Science Association International (RSAI) and the Turkish Regional Science Association (Bölge Bilimi Türk Milli Komitesi - BBTMK) invite regional scientists, economists, economic geographers, urban planners, policy makers, and researchers of related disciplines to participate in the 11th World Congress of the Regional Science Association International. The Congress will be hosted by the Turkish Regional Science Association.

The Congress will feature several world-renowned keynote speakers on cutting-edge urban and regional science and policy issues, expert panels, research presentations and posters. It will be attended by 500 delegates from the worldwide community of regional scientists.

The conference will be open to different research topics within the broader contours of the regional science, urban and regional studies, geographical sciences and planning, and development. Anticipated sub-themes of the congress include the following:

We invite formal paper presentations as well as posters (new deadline of January 17th, 2016). Organizers of special session are also welcome. The abstract submission portal is now open.

Full information on the venue, abstract submission, registration, schedule of events, accommodation and travel information is posted at www.2016worldcongress.regionalscience.org.

Feel free to contact the secretariat of the Congress at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and to the Chair of the Local Organizing Committee This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information.

We look forward to welcoming you in the dazzling city of Istanbul in April 2016.

With warmest regards,

Tüzin Baycan

Chair of the Local Organizing Committee

We are delighted to inform you that the Call for Papers, for the second edition of the International Symposium, has been launched under the following title: " METROPOLITAN NEW PERSPECTIVES ". The Symposium will take place in Reggio Calabria from 18th  to 20th  May, 2016.

We would greatly appreciate your kind assistance in publicizing the Call for Session and Call for Papers. We ask if you can please forward this e-mail to any department, individual(s) or group(s) that may find this information of interest. Call for Session's deadline, 10th  January  2016 and the Call for Papers' deadline 15th February 2016.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you need further information from us, by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>

Website: www.isth2020.org<http://www.isth2020.org>

Position Information
Title - Director, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy
Department - Udall Center (0436)

All information in the document attached.

CHINESE ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION (Europe/UK)
The 27th CEA (UK) and 8th CEA (Europe) ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Co-organized by
Institute of East Asian Studies (IN-EAST),
University of Duisburg-Essen

&

Confucius Institute Metropolis Ruhr
at University of Duisburg-Essen
Thursday–Saturday, September 1st–3rd, 2016
University of Duisburg-Essen
Duisburg, Germany

CHINA’S NEW WAY OF INTEGRATION WITH THE WORLD:
THE NEW SILK ROAD AND THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE WORLD ECONOMY

In recent years, China has quickly developed into a new engine for global economic growth and has become a new ascendant power in the international system. In order to uphold its development and growth momentum, the Chinese government has taken bold moves to deepen economic reforms and further integrate the country into the global division of labour. In autumn, 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping successively proposed the initiatives of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” that are known as the “One Belt, One Road” Initiative. In 2015, with the release of the “Vision and Actions on Jointly Building ‘One Belt, One Road’”, the creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the setting up of the Silk Road Fund, the “One Belt, One Road” Initiative has moved on to the stage of implementation. Furthermore, the EU and Chinese leaders issued joint statements to develop synergies between EU policies, especially the € 315 billion EU Commission Investment Plan (also known as the Juncker Plan), and China’s “One Belt, One Road” Initiative. Given the resources made available for the “One Belt, One Road” Initiative, the latter will undoubtedly have a decisive impact on the structure and future development of global economic interaction. What does the Initiative mean to the development of the involved countries and regions? What does it mean to the international order and relations between China and the world? These are just some of the questions brought forward by politicians, business leaders, and academic researchers worldwide. In search of well-founded answers to the micro and macro issues concerning the economics, finance, and politics of China’s development, and especially the “One Belt, One Road” Initiative, the main theme of the 27th Annual Conference of CEA (UK) and the 8th CEA (Europe) Conference concerns China’s new way of integration with the world whilst exploring the opportunities of the “One Belt, One Road” Initiative for the global economic system.

Several distinguished scholars have accepted our invitation to give keynote speeches at the conference:
• Justin Yifu Lin (Honorary Dean, Peking University; Former Vice President of the World Bank)
• Chong-En Bai (Chairman of the Economics Department, Tsinghua University; Member of the Monetary Policy Committee of China)
• Susan Shirk (Chair of the 21st Century China Program, University of California, San Diego; Former Deputy Secretary of State of the U.S.A.)
• Guido Tabellini (Intesa Sanpaolo Chair in Political Economics, Bocconi University)
• Fabrizio Zilibotti (Dean, University of Zurich; President of the European Economic Association)

Further features of the conference include:
• The “Second International Forum on the ‘New Silk Road’ and Sino-European Cooperation”, a roundtable co-organized by the China Center for Contemporary World Studies (CCCWS) at the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, and IN-EAST at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Senior government officials from China and Europe, business leaders, and renowned scholars will attend the roundtable.
• Awards for best papers submitted and presented by PhD students.
• Information corner on job opportunities.
• Social events: on Saturday, September 3rd, a guided tour to Duisburg and its environs will be offered.

Submissions of theoretical and empirical studies are welcome. Topics covered may include but are not limited to:
• The “One Belt, One Road” Initiative
• Innovation, productivity and development
• Trade, foreign direct investment, and China’s outward investment
• Logistics and transportation economics
• Culture and migration
• Globalisation and international integration
• Income distribution, education, healthcare and social welfare issues
• Environmental issues
• China’s institutions and political economy
• China’s fiscal and financial system
• Real estate, capital market and corporate governance
• Urbanisation and industrial upgrading
• Agricultural and rural development
• State-owned enterprise reforms
• Demographic change and labour market

Download the PDF File.

Publication: All papers accepted for the conference are eligible for a special issue with the Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies (JCEBS). Papers will be reviewed for JCEBS upon receipt using its normal criteria. Note that the acceptance of a paper to the conference is not a guarantee of publication by JCEBS. Selected conference papers may also have chance to be published in edited books.

Submission: For individual submissions, abstracts should be submitted through the conference website http://cea2016.org/ or sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by January 31st, 2016. The abstract should include (1) the name of the author(s), (2) paper titles and abstract, and (3) Email contacts for each paper. You are also encouraged to apply for the organization of dedicated sessions at the conference. Proposals for organized sessions are also due by January 31st, 2016 and should be sent to the same Email. The session proposal should describe the organizing theme and potential paper topics to be addressed. The person submitting the session will be considered the session organizer/chair.

Participation: Conference fee is € 250; PhD student concessional fee is € 100. The conference fee includes one-year membership of CEA and four issues of the Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies.

Conference Chair:
Yuan Li, University of Duisburg-Essen. President Elect of Chinese Economic Association (Europe/UK)
Markus Taube, University of Duisburg-Essen

Program Committee members:
Flemming Christiansen, University of Duisburg-Essen
Shuanping Dai, University of Duisburg-Essen
Liming Wang, University College Dublin
Jun Zhang, Fudan University
Jing Zhang, Nottingham University
Jinghai Zheng, University of Gothenburg

Local Organization Committee members:
Helmut Demes, University of Duisburg-Essen
Birgit Geith, University of Duisburg-Essen
Susanne Löhr, Confucius Institute Metropolis Ruhr
Liang Liu, Confucius Institute Metropolis Ruhr
Maximilian Mai, University of Duisburg-Essen
Stefanie Ridder, University of Duisburg-Essen

All information at: http://cea2016.org/

We are pleased to announce the lunch of the website of the 14th PRSCO Summer Institute 2016 (PRSCO 2016).

The registration and accommodation are under construction.

The paper submission is ready.

Deadline for Abstract/Session Submission : February 15, 2016

Please click on

http://www.prsco2016.com/index.html

Dear colleagues,

We are organizing the next INFER Annual Conference as part of the scientific activities supported by the CREIP research center (www.urv.cat/creip). INFER AC will take place in Reus, at the Faculty of Business and Economics of the Rovira i Virgili University in June 2016 (8th, 9th and 10th).

The INFER Annual Conference is open to contributions from all areas of economic research. However, we especially encourage submissions related to the following topics:
* Emerging markets economies and globalization
* Financial and Debt Crisis
* Economic Asymmetries
* Fiscal Policy and Public Finance
* Growth, Technical Progress and Innovation
* Entrepreneurship
* Industrial Economics and Microeconomics
* Housing Economics
* International Trade and Economic Geography
* Labour and Capital Markets
* Energy Economics
* Macroeconomic Policy
* Monetary and Financial Economics
* Public Economics
* Regional, Urban and Rural Economics

The INFER Annual Conference will include keynote speeches by Prof. Guillem López Casasnovas (Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Prof. Thierry Mayer (SciencesPo), and Prof. Diego Puga (CEMFI).

Please, find attached the Call for papers (http://urv.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=72dbdf65a5f0372198c49c073&id=3c67fb0494&e=e6890404ef) in which you will find all details about the conference. For further updates please visit:

http://urv.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=72dbdf65a5f0372198c49c073&id=450097ff4b&e=e6890404ef

Kind regards,
Josep-Maria Arauzo-Carod
Universitat Rovira i Virgili & CREIP