Colleagues

For the past several years, I have provided logistical support for the World Bank's annual Conference on Land and Poverty. The meeting takes place in March and brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers - including some very high level people - from around the globe. 

In the wake of this year's meeting, I have suggested that we work to increase level of participation among the scientific community - and made the case that RSAI is the organization best positioned to contribute. Toward that end, I write to ask if you'd be interested in participating in the 2016 meeting - and, especially, if you'd be interested in helping to organize a session/s for the meeting? Ideally, I'd like to add at least five new sessions to the meeting.

A link to this year's conference is here:

http://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2014/08/06/landconference2015

A story about GWU's involvement in the conference - namely, our students - is available here:

http://gwtoday.gwu.edu/foot-door-consulting-world

I plan to meet with Klaus Deiniger, who runs the conference, to further discuss possibilities in early May. At the meeting, I hope to present Klaus with a list of prospective participants from our organization - so please let me know if you are interested. I don't need details at this point, just expressions of interest. The Land and Poverty Conference is a terrific venue for us - because it's a venue where some of our ideas find some policy traction.

Please send expressions of interest to me at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. As usual - apologies for cross-postings.

Cheers,

John I. Carruthers, Ph.D.
Director, Sustainable Urban Planning Program
College of Professional Studies
The George Washington University
240.575.8579

INFER Workshop on

Modelling Economic Resilience to External Shocks

June 1-2, 2015, Business and Economics Department, University of the Azores

Jointly organized by

INFER – International Network for Economic Research

CEEAplA – Centre of Applied Economic Studies of the Atlantic

Workshop Objectives

This workshop provides an opportunity for all those interested in the ECONOMIC MODELLING OF EXTERNAL SHOCKS to discuss their research and to exchange ideas. Researchers are invited to submit both empirical and theoretical papers that are broadly consistent with the workshop’s special topic. 

In particular we welcome papers related to the following topics:

Approaches:

THE BLUE ECONOMY

THE GREEN ECONOMY

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY AND EXTERNAL CHANGES

PUBLIC POLICIES TO ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE

RESILIENCE TO SHOCKS

Instruments:                                                               

CGE MODELS

ECONOMETRIC MODELS                                                        

INPUT/OUTPUT MODELS

The workshop is open to anybody involved in these research areas, including both young and experienced researchers, Ph.D. students, post-doctoral researchers, and professionals from business, government and non-governmental institutions.

Keynote Speakers

We are happy to welcome the following internationally distinguished keynote speakers:

Alfredo Marvão Pereira, The College of William and Mary (Department of Economics)

Júlia Seixas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente)

Ali Bayar, EcoMod Network (Free University of Brussels)

Scientific Committee

Mário Fortuna (CEEAplA and University of the Azores)

Francisco Silva (CEEAplA and University of the Azores)

Luz Paramío (CEEAplA and University of the Azores)

Alberto Bagnai (University of Pescara)

David Duffy (University of Ulster)

Agnieszka Gehringer (University of Göttingen)

Nikolay Nenovsky (University of Amiens)

Elias Soukiazis (University of Coimbra)

Andreea Stoian (University of Bucharest)

Camelia Turcu (University of Orléans)

Jan Van Hove (University of Leuven)

Organization

The workshop is jointly organized by the

- International Network for Economic Research (INFER)

- Centre of Applied Economic Studies of the Atlantic (CEEAplA)

INFER is a non-profit international scientific organization that stimulates research and research networking in all fields of economics through international workshops and conferences. Website:

www.infer-research.net

The Centre of Applied Economics Studies of the Atlantic (CEEAplA) was created in 2003 and it is evaluated and financed by FCT - Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation. Its mission is to promote theoretical and applied scientific advanced research using its highly skilled human resources engaged in research projects in the areas of business and economics, namely: Labor Economics; Tourism Economics and Development, Regional Economics; Public Sector Economics; Economic History; Management; and Finance.

Submission of Papers

Only full papers may be submitted, preferably in pdf-format. Papers should be submitted to 

Susana Sardinha

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Deadline for paper submission is April 25^th, 2015.

Authors are allowed to submit more than one paper. We will confirm receipt of your submission.

All submitted papers will be peer reviewed according to a high-quality and fast referee process. You will receive an e-mail indicating whether your paper is accepted for presentation during the workshop or not before May 5^th, 2015.

Paper presenters are expected to discuss one other paper during the workshop. The discussant assignments will be made by the workshop organizers at a later date. As the workshop intends to build a network in this research area, participation is welcome even without paper contributions.

Publication of Papers

A selection of papers presented at the workshop may be published in one or more international publications. INFER offers several publication possibilities to workshop participants, including book volumes and journal publications. The workshop organizers will contact you about these publication possibilities later.

Registration and Registration Fee

The registration fee for presenting and non-presenting participants will be:

• INFER members: 60 EUR

 • other participants: 120 EUR

Please note: the annual membership fee for private INFER members is 25 EUR only (institutional INFER members 200 EUR). You are invited to become a member! 

The registration fee includes all lunches and drinks. It doesn’t include travel and accommodation expenses. All workshop participants have to register for the workshop. Please note that paper submission is not regarded as a registration. Registration can be done as follows:

By the INFER website + PayPal

Please register on the INFER website (www.infer-research.net). Payment can be done via PayPal on the website. Note that you can use the same website to become an INFER member.

Deadline for registration and payment: May 15^th, 2015.

In case of late registration, the fees will be increased by 50%.

Further Information

Questions may be directed to the local workshop organizers’ secretariat, Susana Sardinha, (CEEAplA and University of the Azores):

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Local Organizing Committee:

Mário Fortuna, CEEAplA and University of the Azores (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Francisco Silva, CEEAplA and University of the Azores (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Luz Paramío, CEEAplA and University of the Azores (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Questions about INFER may be directed to the Chair of the INFER Workshop Committee, Camelia Turcu (University of Orléans and INFER):

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Advanced Training in Economic Analysis and Management: Module 4 – Regional Economics

April 20-24, 2015 – OCP Policy Center, Rabat, Morocco

Lecturer: Prof. Eduardo Haddad – University of Sao Paulo (Brazil)

Course Outline

This course will introduce students to some of the commonly-used tool kits in regional economics that help understanding and interpreting the complexity of the spatial structure of sub-national economies. Emphasis in the course will be given to the analysis of integrated inter-regional systems. I have selected some of the various available techniques, ranging from spatial data analysis and classical Leontief input-output analysis to inter-regional computable general equilibrium modeling, which constitutes nowadays one of the main research frontiers in regional modeling. In addition to presenting the bases of the selected methods, I will discuss applications for different countries (Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Portugal) related to topics of interest for regional policy makers, including regional economic development, domestic and international trade, transportation infrastructure, exploitation of natural resources, climate change, government transfers, tourism and regional interdependence.

Program

Day 1 (April 20) – Spatial Data

9:15–10:30: Measures of Concentration, Specialization, and Localization

10:30-10h50: Coffee break

10:50-12:15: Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) – Geovisualization Tutorial

Lunch

14:00-15:30: Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) – Global Spatial Autocorrelation

15:30-15:50: Coffee Break

15:50-17:15: Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) – Local Spatial Autocorrelation

Day 2 (April 21) – Economic Impact Analysis

9:15–10:30: Economic Base Models

10:30-10h50: Coffee break

10:50-12:15: Input-Output Models Text

Lunch

14:00-15:30: Inter-regional Input-Output Models Text

15:30-15:50: Coffee Break

15:50-17:15: Application: Tourism Multipliers (Azores and Brazil) Paper1 Paper2

Day 3 (April 22) – Economic Impact Analysis

9:15–10:30: CGE Models

10:30-10h50: Coffee break

10:50-12:15: Inter-regional CGE Models Text

Lunch

14:00-15:30: Application: Climate Change (Brazil and Lebanon) Paper1 Paper2Paper3

15:30-15:50: Coffee Break

15:50-17:15: Application: Natural Resources (Brazil and VALE) Paper

Day 4 (April 23) – Trade and Networks

9:15–10:30: Application: Trade Liberalization (Colombia) Paper

10:30-10h50: Coffee break

10:50-12:15: Application: Domestic Integration (Colombia, Egypt and Lebanon)Paper1 Paper2 Paper3

Lunch

14:00-15:30: Application: Port Infrastructure (Brazil) / Unexpected Events (Lebanon) Paper1 Paper2

15:30-15:50: Coffee Break

15:50-17:15: Application: Government Transfers as Regional Policies (Brazil)Paper1 Paper2

Day 5 (April 24) – Mobility, Accessibility and Productivity in Inter-regional Systems

9:15–10:30: Application: Intra-Urban Transportation Infrastructure – Passengers (Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area) Paper

10:30-10h50: Coffee break

10:50-12:15: Application: Inter-regional Transportation Infrastructure – Cargo (Minas Gerais, Brazil) Paper

Lunch

14:30-16:00: Application: Tourism Infrastructure and Mega-Sport Events (Brazil)Paper

16:00-16:15: Coffee Break

16:15-17:30: Application: Network Analysis (Brazil) / Regionalization (Morocco)Paper

All information at: http://www.usp.br/nereus/?p=3812

Michael was a huge fan of golf and the Detroit Tigers. He also loved attending many Notre Dame Football games. Michael had a passion for craft beer and enjoyed exploring and learning about breweries. He will be remembered for his wonderful sense of humor and contagious smile.
Michael is survived by, significant other, Jeanette E. Eckert, mother, Patricia A. Moore; siblings, Lynsey (Richard) Corwin, Andy Moore, Kiel Moore, Matthew Moore; niece, Angelee Coleman; grandmother, Mildred Harmon; beloved dog, Magglio; and many aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by, father, Kim Moore; grandparents, Richard Harmon, and Wilford and Beatrice Moore. 

Fink to full Mike’s obituary - http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Michael-Moore&lc=6868&pid=174597785&mid=6397175.

5th Annual Conference of the Argentine

Regional Science Association
Argentine Regions in the Bicentenary
August 12 -14, 2015, San Miguel de Tucumán
Call for Papers

OVERVIEW
The Argentine Regional Science Association (SAER) invites you to participate in the 5th edition of its Annual Conference to be held in August 12-14, 2015 in San Miguel de Tucumán, organized by Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán.

The 5th Annual Conference will cover a wide range of topics on Regional Economics including:
• Regional finances, trade, investments and capital markets
• Regional economic growth and development

Previous Seminars (http://www.saerargentina.com.ar ) have attracted speakers from different countries. We welcome scholars, researchers, students as well as corporation and government executives. We will also host special panels on regional topics. You can either present your research work or just attend. There will be a session of work and/or thesis in progress.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
• Emilio Blanco (BCRA)
• Pedro Elosegui (BCRA & Laboratorio de Ideas, Universidad Maimónides),
• Julio Elías (UCEMA),
• Osvaldo Meloni (Universidad Nacional de Tucumán)
• Gabriel Vilches (UNQ)

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
Submissions (extended abstracts up to 1,000 words or full papers) should be in English and include title, keywords, JEL classification, author(s)’ full name(s), affiliation, address, email and phone of the (responsible) author. Submissions (in pdf file format only) must be made by email only to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

DEADLINES
Submission of papers or extended abstracts: June 2, 2015
Notification of acceptance: June 23, 2015
Submission of final papers/work in progress: July 29, 2015

The organizers will invite participating authors to be discussants of a paper.

The 9th Annual Conference of the Spatial Econometrics Association will take place in Miami 21-23 May 2015.

The deadline for the abstract submission is quickly approaching on April the 15th 2015.

For all details, please visit the website:
http://www.spatialeconometricsassociation.org/2015/

NECTAR Newsletter                                                                    March 2015

Dear NECTAR friends

This newsletter brings news on NECTAR activities and NECTAR members. But first I would like to give you an update of the preparations for the 2015 NECTAR international conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, June 14-16, 2015. It will be a true transatlantic conference: we have accepted over 100 abstracts, of which over one third are from North American researchers. The conference will have a mix of plenary and parallel sessions, and a specialized subconference on Accessibility-Based Evaluation, with invited practitioners from the USA and Europe. The different cluster will organize thematic sessions, there will be general sessions on other topics within the NECTAR field.

We are also pleased that 12 PhDs have been nominated for the first NECTAR PhD award! This is al­ready a recognition of the high quality of the research conducted by PhD students supervised by
NECTAR members. A committee with NECTAR cluster chairs has been established to assess the nominations, and Professor Peter Nijkamp as chair.

Karst Geurs, NECTAR chair, March 2015

Thematic cluster sessions at the 2015 international conference

Clusters’s animators suggested thematic sessions along the conference, related with each of the cluster’s main topic. The following thematic sessions will take place at the annual NECTAR conference:

Cluster 1: Smart transport network investments and smart outcomes?

Cluster 2: The Environmental, Planning and Policy Implications of Advanced Technologies.

Clyster 3: Smart freight transport: the way forward.

Cluster 4: The Dynamics of Migration, Housing, and Labour Markets in Land Use.

Cluster 6: Accessibility, Vulnerability and Resilience.

Cluster 7: Smart Securing of Transportation Activities.

Cluster 8: Big data and mobility: a digital framework of human communications for smarter cities.               

A new Transport Research Centre at Tel Aviv University, Israel

In April 2014, the Transportation Research Unit (TRU) at Tel Aviv University, Israel was officially opened. The unit, established and directed by Dr. Moshe Givoni, aims to better understand the social, economic and environmental implications of transport in time and space in order to advance sustainable transport policy. The unit's main objectives are first to develop international research reputation in the field of Mobility and Transport and second, the promote an informed public debate on transport planning and policy issues within Israel. The unit opened in a public event in which Prof. David Banister of the Transport Studies Unit (TSU) at Oxford University gave the keynote speech on " Transport Futures: Thinking the Unthinkable".

To contact the TRU email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Doctorate Honoris Causa : Peter Nijkamp

A few weeks ago, Peter Nijkamp received a doctorate honoris causa from the University of Poznan, Poland. This is already his 5th honorary degree. He got this high scientific distinction for his path-breaking semi­nal contributions to regional science and for his world-wide scholarly impact on new generations of regional scientists. NECTAR would like to congratulate Peter with this achievement.

For further information see the following link

Cluster 5: Kuhmo-NECTAR School

The Kuhmo-NECTAR School of ITEA (International Transport Economics Association) is organized an­nually, together with the annual ITEA conference. The School offers a high-quality program covering re­cent advances in transportation and urban economics and is targeted to PhD students, practitioners, and practicing researchers from related fields. It has been highly successful in attracting young researchers from around the world.

So far, the Kuhmo-NECTAR School has taken place in Helsinki in 2006, Urbino (Italy) 2007, Amsterdam 2008, Copenhagen 2009, Valencia 2010, Stockholm 2011, Berlin 2012, Chicago 2013, and Toulouse 2014. The next School will take place in Oslo 15-17 June 2015. Further information on the 2015 edition of the School can be found here.

Cluster 6: Book Accessibility And Spatial Interaction

The book on Acessibility and Spatial Interaction paves the way for new topics requiring novel approaches using accessibility tools. This book emphasis the complex and dynamic interaction between accessibility and the space-economy and was edited by Ana Condeço-Melhorado , Aura Reggiani , Javier Gutiérrez ,  within the NECTAR Series of Edward Elgar Publishing.

Members of NECTAR have the right to purchase this book, and other published books in the NECTAR Series, for personal use with a 50% discount off the published price, provided that payment is made with order.

Cluster 7: Joint Session of WCTR Interest Group G5 and NECTAR Cluster 7

The World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS) announces that the 14th World Confer­ence will be held from the 10-16 July 2016 in Shanghai (China) at Tongji University. A special joint session of WCTR  Interest Group G5 and NECTAR cluster 7 on Transport and Security is being organized by Yoram Shiftan, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, and Luca Zamparini, University of Salento, Italy, the SIG co-chairs. Further information can be found here.

Upcoming NECTAR Events

13 — 14 April 2015 NECTAR Cluster 2 on Climate Change Targets and Urban Transport Policy, Malta

16 — 17 April 2015 NECTAR Cluster 3 Meeting on “Sustainable freight transport – are cities willing and ready for the recent advances in transport technologies?”, Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal

7 — 8 May 2015 NECTAR Cluster 1 workshop “Enhancing the network efficiency: air transport and sustainability”, Cranfield, United Kingdom

14 — 16 June 2015 NECTAR international Conference, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States of America

25—28 August 2015 NECTAR Cluster 6 Special Session in ERSA 2015 on New data and Methods in Accessibility Analysis, Lisbon; Portugal

Call for Submissions

Inaugural Award
PRSCO Award for Best Paper by a Young Regional Scientist [PDF][MS-Word]

The Pacific Regional Science Conference Organisation (PRSCO) is proud to announce that it will, for the first time, present a Best Paper Award in 2015.

The Award will be made for the best submission to the PRSCO Best Paper competition by a young regional scientist, under the age of 33 (on July 1, 2015), who is from a PRSCO-relevant part of the world. TheAward rules can be found on the PRSCO web site.

The author of the winning paper will be expected to present their paper at the 2015 PRSCO Conference to be held at Viña del Mar, Chile from August 5th to 8th. The winning paper will be announced by June 5th, 2015. The decision of the selection committee will be final.

Eligible authors who wish to submit a paper to the PRSCO Best Paper competition should email a pdf copy of their paper to the PRSCO Executive Secretary (Hiroyuki SHIBUSAWA This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by no later than Friday, March 20, 2015.

Submissions should include a cover page with the paper’s title, the author’s full name, affiliation, and contact details. Award applicants should either: state that the paper is single-authored; or provide the name of the co-author(s), together with evidence that the applicant is the lead author and has contributed over 70 per cent of the paper’s content. The applicant should also affirm that they meet the Award’s age criterion.

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I would personally like to invite you to the XLI Conference on Regional Studies, which will be held in Reus (Spain) on the 18th, 19th and 20th of November 2015. A few days before officially opening the call for papers I would like to encourage you to take part in this event, which will take place at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. We are aware of the constraints that researchers are currently suffering, especially those of the younger generation. As such, we are planning an attractive programme with an extensive offer of accommodation at competitive prices. Our aim during this conference is for Reus to become a city of reference with respect to Regional Science.

The organizing committee, which comprises members of the Research Group on Industry and Territory (GRIT) and Quantitative, Urban and Regional Economics (QURE) from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, is sure that you will enjoy the conference at both an academic level and in terms of personal enjoyment. In our efforts to organise a high-level conference, together with the ordinary sessions, you will be able to participate in a series of special sessions that are relevant to today’s world, and which link in with the conference slogan ‘Innovation and Geographical Spillovers: New Approaches and Evidence’.

The conference will take place in the excellent facilities of the Business and Economics Faculty (on the Bellissens Campus) of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Our faculty is located in the university complex of Reus and is very close to the town’s historical centre. Reus is a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants, and together with Tarragona, forms the second largest metropolitan area in Catalonia. Reus is well-connected to other Spanish cities by its high-speed AVE train services, as well as by major road networks. A wide range of available accommodation is also available in Reus or on the coast, in Cambrils, Salou and PortAventura-. Check the conference website to find more information about accommodation, travelling and entertainment opportunities available in this area.

We hope to see you in Reus!

Warm regards,

Agustí Segarra

President of the Organising Committee for the XLI Conference on Regional Studies