Call for submissions

2014 RSAI Best Dissertation in Regional Science

The Regional Science Association International (RSAI) invites submissions for the annual competition for the best doctoral dissertation in regional science. Regional science is an interdisciplinary field concerned with theory, method, and application of regional, urban and rural, geographic and spatial investigations and analyses.

The winner will be decided by the selection committee and will receive a cash award of 750 Euros. Award announcements will be made at the North American Meetings of the RSAI, where participants in the competition are strongly encouraged to be present. The competition is held annually. The Selection Committee reserves the right to not make an award. Decisions made by the Selection Committee are final.

Eligibility:

1. A dissertation completed in any Ph.D. program in any country is eligible,
2. A dissertation written in English,
3. A dissertation successfully defended, with official graduation date between July 1st 2013 and June 30th 2014,
4. A dissertation on a single or multiple general regional science topics. The selection committee reserves the right to determine whether a dissertation is relevant to the field of regional science. 

Application (in either PDF or MS Word format):

1. A two-page curriculum vita;
2. A letter of support and nomination from the major professor (also known as dissertation committee chairperson or supervisor) on stationary paper and with signature;
3. The dissertation.

Applications should be submitted electrically by July 31, 2014 to the Selection Committee Chair, Dr. Shaoming Cheng (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Large submissions can be uploaded to a cloud file-sharing site. Questions regarding the dissertation competition may be sent to him too. 

The Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) – Regional Economics Workshop is organized in honor of Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and member of WIFO’s Scientific Board. Prof. Hewings has published numerous scientific contributions in fields like economics, economic geography, urban and regional planning, input-output analysis and others, and is always eager to share his knowledge and give advice to younger scholars.

This year’s workshop will focus on topics around sustainable regional growth and cohesion. Over the past years an intensive discussion emerged focusing on the nexus between growth, regional disparities and sustainability. Do strategies promoting sustainable growth at the national level necessarily decrease regional inequalities or is it feasible to accomplish both sustainable growth and regional equity goals at the same time? This question has also been central to the research carried out within WWWforEurope, a four year research project within the 7th Framework Programme funded by the European Commission under the lead of WIFO.

The workshop aims at bringing together researchers from various fields of economics working mainly at the regional level to discuss ideas and exchange knowledge. Besides papers related to the overall theme of the workshop, sustainable regional growth and cohesion, contributions on other relevant topics in the field of regional economics are also welcome. Morover it should be emphasized that the workshop also intends to attract contributions characterized as “work in progress” and those from young researchers.

The workshop will be held at WIFO in Vienna. There are no fees for participants of the workshop. All papers presented may be published in the WIFO Working Paper series.

Abstracts of papers and/or full papers intended for presentation should be prepared in PDF-format and be sent to Oliver Fritz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Deadlines:
• Submission of abstracts: June 10, 2014
• Notification of acceptance: June 30, 2014

After numerousrequeststo expandsignificantlythe deadline for submission ofabstracts will proceedtofix iton May 31.

All information at: http://www.reunionesdeestudiosregionales.org/Home-82-home

Dear colleagues,

We have now extended the deadlines for submission of papers for the INFER Workshop in Urban and Regional Economics until May 20th 2014. To submit a paper to the workshop, please send a complete version in pdf format to the email address "This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." with the subject "Submission to the INFER Workshop in Urban and Regional Economics". The front page of the document should include the title, authors, affiliations, contact details, and a short abstract. Notification of acceptance/rejection should be received by June 16th 2014.

You will find all the details at http://events.urv.cat/go/infer-workshop.

Kind regards,

Josep-Maria Arauzo-Carod & Miguel Manjón-Antolín

Universitat Rovira i Virgili & CREIP

16th Annual BIOECON Conference
Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Sustainability

21-23 September 2014
Kings College, Cambridge
United Kingdom

Hosted by the London School of Economics, the Graduate Institute-Geneva and University of Cambridge
Supported by the Founding Partners of the BIOECON Network: UNEP, IUCN, FEEM, IHEID and The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (LSE)
With the contribution of The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

The BIOECON Partners are pleased to announce theSixteenth Annual International BIOECON conference on the theme of "Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Sustainability". The conference will be held once again on the premises ofKings College Cambridge, England on the 22nd -23rd September 2014. The conference will be of interest to both researchers and policy makers working on issues broadly in the area of biodiversity, ecosystem services, sustainable development and natural capital, in both developed and developing countries.

The conference takes a broad interest in the area of resource management, development and conservation, including but not limited to: the role of biodiversity and ecosystem services in economic development, plant genetic resources and food security issues, deforestation and development, fisheries and institutional adaptation, development and conservation, wildlife conservation, and international trade and regulation. The conference will have sessions on economic development, growth and biodiversity conservation, as well as on institutions and institutional change pertaining to the management of living resources.

Papers are specially invited on the themes of:

- Natural capital and wealth accounting
- Policy evaluation of biodiversity-related policies
- Institutional frameworks for resource conservation (property rights, market instruments etc.)
- Valuation methodology and its application to biodiversity conservation
- Behavioural economics in biodiversity policy design - Evaluation of conservation policy successes and failures
- Issues of governance and management of natural resources in developing countries
- Development, growth and resource constraints, especially in relation to food security
- Resources management, distribution, development, poverty alleviation
- Institution-building for provision of global public goods

In addition, two expert policy panelswill be held related to this theme. The first will focus on green growth and natural capital accounting as they pertain to biodiversity and ecosystem services. The second will rise to the challenge raised by a keynote speaker in last year's BIOECON conference in focussing on the impact of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystems and the appropriate policy response.

Keynote speakersfor the 16th BIOECON Conference are:

Professor Christian Gollier, Toulouse School of Economics
Professor James Salzman, Duke University

Only complete papers may be submitted for presentation within the conference. Electronic copies should be sent to Kristine Kjeldsen (atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) no later than31st May 2014.Please include Abstract, JEL Codes and Keywords with your submission.Acceptance of papers will be notified by email by 2nd June 2014.

It is also possible to submit 3-4 papers together as a suggested "session" under one of the themes indicated above. The Scientific Partners reserve the right to accept papers on an individual basis, so it is possible that even when a session is not accepted, individual papers within the session might be so.

The conference will open with a reception at Kings College on early evening of Sunday 21st of September. Conference sessions will commence on the morning of the 22nd of September and conclude on the afternoon of the 23rd of September. The conference banquet will take place at the main Dining Hall of Kings College on the evening of the 22nd of September.

Selected presenters will be invited to register one presenter for the conference at the "invited presenter" rate. The invited presenter rate consists of a 100 Euroregistration feethat will cover the costs of 2 nights single accommodation, reception, lunches, and conference banquet. (Anything other than single accommodation must be provided outside of Kings College, and is at the expense of the participant. Additional guests may be registered for the Conference Banquet at the additional cost of 50 Euros per guest.) There is a 200 Euro registration fee for all other participants that will include the banquet, lunches and refreshments, but not accommodation. There is a 100 Euro registration fee for day-participants (that includes lunches and refreshments but not lodging and the conference banquet). All other questions regarding fees, registrations and accommodation should be sent toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Registration will open on 2nd June 2014. Registrations for conference presenters are due by 20th June 2014. Registration for all other participants closes on the20th August 2014.

Further registration details and all other conference information will be provided on the BIOECON web-site athttp://www.bioecon-network.org/pages/16th_2014.html. 

Download the Announcement and Call for Papers document[pdf - 219 Kb]

Deadline for submission of abstracts until May 15, 2014

Call for abstracts

Is open the call for abstracts of the XL edition of the Spanish Regional Studies Meting which is being organized in Asturias under the auspices of the Spanish Regional Science Association and will take place in Zaragoza the 20^st-21^nd November, 2014.

The theme of this edition of the conference is Financing and the role of the regions and towns in the economic recovery.

On behalf of the Aragonese Regional Science Association, we invite you to participate in the XL Conference of Regional Studies, which will be held in Zaragoza the 20th-21st November 2014. As previous editions, we intend to create a discussion forum on Regional Science, between academics and professionals on different disciplines: economic, geography, maths, econometrics, sociology etc. With the debate and discussion we intend to help in the economic making decision process at municipal, regional, national or international level. With respect to this last issue, note that our meeting is open to researches from several countries, within and outside the European Union. This is also the identity of the 7th Seminar Jean Paelinck, that will be held simultaneously in Zaragoza, and whose sessions are open to all participants in the XL Conference of Regional Studies.

The lemma of the XL Conference of Regional Studiesis the following: “FINANCING AND THE ROLE OF REGIONS AND TOWNS IN ECONOMIC RECOVERY”. In the present economic context, it is necessary to work on the design of those measures that contribute to overcome the huge economic crisis we are facing to. In this sense, the correct distribution of economic resources at municipal or regional level is a key tool to get it.

The organizing committee is composed by members of the University of Zaragoza and members of the research groups of Quantitative Economic Analysis (GAEC) and Public Economy, both from the University of Zaragoza.

The Scientific Committee is responsible for selecting the contents of the conference. It is presided by Prof. José Villaverde Castro and comprises academics from external universities and institutions. This Committee is responsible for guaranteeing the quality of the presented papers as well as the correct organization of the debates, round tables, etc.

The languages of the XL Conference of Regional Studies are Spanish and English, and the conference will be held in November, 20th-21st. The Conference Sites are the Faculty of Economic and Enterprise  and “Paraninfo” of the University of Zaragoza

From these lines, we want to encourage participating in the XL Conference of Regional Studiesto those professional interested in Regional Science. As previously said, we think that diverse perspectives will improve the present state of arts in Regional Science and increase efficiency in the development of national economic growth policies, in general, and policies aimed at the recovery from the present economic crisis, in particular.

On behalf of the Aragonese Regional Science Association, the Organizing Committee and the Scientific Committee, we would like to give special thanks to all the sponsors of this event. We would also like express our wish that this edition of the conference – which, like its predecessors, will prove to be a valuable forum from academic and professional perspectives and in terms of its social impact. Moreover, this forum will offer us the opportunity to discuss the main issues in regional science in the presence of old and new colleagues.

Call for Nominations

The William Alonso Memorial Prize for Innovative Work in Regional Science

The William Alonso Memorial Prize for Innovative Work in Regional Science was established in 1999 to honor the memory of a revered, pioneering scholar. In 1960 William Alonso was awarded the first Ph.D. in Regional Science by the University of Pennsylvania. The book based on his dissertation, Location and Land Use (Harvard University Press, 1964), is often credited with launching the field of urban economics. He made numerous major contributions to the study of migration, regional development, and the politics of numbers, and his work ranged from meticulous mathematical theory to far-ranging think pieces. William Alonso was Assistant and Associate Professor of Regional Planning at Harvard University (1959-67), Professor of Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley (1966-76), and Richard Saltonstall Professor of Population Policy at Harvard (1976-99).

The objective of the Prize is to recognize the recent innovative research contribution of Regional Science scholars in the spirit of Dr. William Alonso. Previous Prize Winners are:

2002       Masahisa Fujita and Paul Krugman, The Spatial Economy (MIT Press, 1999)

2004       Jacques-François Thisse, Economics of Agglomeration (Cambridge University              Press, 2002)

2006       Luc Anselin, Local Indicators of Spatial Association (Geographical Analysis,                            1995)

                Ann Markusen, Sticky Places in Slippery Space (Economic Geography, 1996)

2011       Michael Batty, Cities and Complexity (MIT Press, 2007)

2013       Robert Sampson, Great American City (University of Chicago Press, 2012)

The next prize, the 2015 Prize, is scheduled to be announced in 2014 at the occasion of the North American Meetings of RSAI.

Although occasionally awarded to an article, the Alonso Prize is primarily a book prize. A book’s key idea might have been presented first in a journal article, such as Alonso’s “A Theory of the Urban Land Market,” Papers of the Regional Science Association, 1960, but its fuller development and synthesis with other work can make the book innovative and eligible for the Prize.

Nominations for the 2015 prize to be announced in 2014 are invited by the Alonso Prize Committee. They may come from any individual or organization including book publishers, university departments, government agencies, and other public or private entities. Each organization is limited to make two nominations for each occasion. The deadline for nominations is July 30, 2014.

The nominated work must be a book published in 2009 or later. An edited book will be considered only if it is tightly-integrated, not a loose collection of chapters.

The nominated work may have single or multiple authors.

Authors are encouraged to self-nominate, and jurors will not know which books were self-nominated.

Previously nominated books may be re-nominated and will be considered anew.

Six copies of the book must be received by the deadline. Please send books to Neil Reid, Department of Geography and Planning, Mail Stop 140, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio 43606

To nominate a book (1) send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with citation information, such as William Alonso, Location and Land Use, Harvard University Press, 1964, (2) attach up to three published book reviews, if available, using pdf files, and (3) arrange for the six copies to be sent, usually by the author or publisher. No letters of nomination or support are required, and, if provided, will not be sent to jurors. The selection criteria are innovation and expected impact.

Call for participation

Special Sessions on GeoComputation

61st Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International NARSC - RSAI

November 12-15, 2014, Washington, DC, USA

The special sessions on various aspects of GeoComputation are planned for the North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (NARSC) to be held in Washington DC, USA, November 12-15, 2014. Suitable topics for the session presentations are theoretical, methodological and applied issues related to GeoComputation – spatial analysis and modeling, and in the context of regional science.

Please let us know if you are interested to contribute to the special session(s) by sending an email at <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.> with the title, abstract, name of author(s), affiliations, contact details and the unique ID number at your earliest but not later than June 15th, 2014. The abstract should be 2,000 to 5,500 characters and spaces.

Please note that in order to have your presentation included to the special session we do need the unique identification number (ID). The ID, or PIN, is a number included at the bottom of the confirmation email received following the submission of an abstract.

Detailed information about the NARSC conference can be found at <http://www.narsc.org >. Information about the submission process can be found at <http://www.narsc.org/newsite/?page_id=64>. Conference abstract submission deadline is July 1^st, 2014.

Looking forward to seeing you in Washington, DC.

The organizers:

Prof. Suzana Dragicevic

Department of Geography

Simon Fraser University, Canada

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

Prof. Andrew Crooks

Department of Computational Social Science

George Mason University, USA

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

Prof. Jean-Claude Thill

Department of Geography and Earth Sciences

University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA

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

Dear colleagues,

We have the pleasure to invite you to the Conference „Strengthening regional parliaments in EU affairs: challenges, practices and perspectives“, that will be held on Wednesday, 2 July 2014 in Brussels.

The conference is jointly organised by the Committee of the Regions and the Jean Monnet Chair from Tuebingen University, Gabriele Abels.

The conference aims to raise the awareness for the role and the challenges for regional parliaments. Contributions by academics and practitioners focus on a first evaluation of the new mechanisms and their use by regional parliaments. In addition, the conference aims to bring in contact practitioners from regional parliaments with each other and with policy-makers and experts at the European level.

You can find the preliminary conference programme and the online registration form on the CoR website.

Please feel free to forward this invitation.

We are looking forward to welcoming you at this conference.

Kind regards,

The conference team from Tuebingen University

******************************************

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Abels

Jean-Monnet-Chair

President of the German Political Science Association

Chair of Comparative Politics and European Integration, Institute of Political Science (IfP), Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen

Melanchthonstr. 36

D- 72074 Tübingen, Germany

tel. (+49) 07071-29 783 69

fax  (+49) 07071-29 24 17

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

10 paid PhD positions in Urban Studies are now available at the Gran Sasso Science Institute (l'Aquila, Italy).

The position is full-time, for three years, starting November 2014.

GENERAL INFORMATION: www.gssi.infn.it/phd/

APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 22, 2014 at 6:00 pm (Italian time).

APPLICATION: Applicants must fill out the online application form at www.gssi.infn.it/phd/ and attach the required documents (among them:

Curriculum Vitae, Master Thesis in the original language, a summary of the Master Thesis in English).

SCHOLARSHIP: 10 positions are available for the PhD in Urban Studies.

The gross amount of a single scholarship is 16.159,91 €/year. All PhD students will have free accommodation. Meals expenses will be partly covered with luncheon vouchers and other recreational and cultural services will be offered.

PHD PROGRAMME IN URBAN STUDIES

For information on the GSSI doctoral programme in Urban Studies, please visit: www.gssi.infn.it/index.php/en/doctoral-programme

CONTACTS

For further information: www.gssi.infn.it - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.