RSPP Paper Award 2024

Following the nomination of the 10 best papers by the Editors of 10 Special Issues/Topics published in 2023, the Jury composed by David Plane, Philip McCann, Bruce Newbold, Neil Reid and Tomaz Dentinho agreed that the winners of the 2024 RSPP paper award based on papers published in 2023 were:

X Gao, L Liu, D Ou, H Yuwu (2023), Using mobile phone data to probe the mobility‐ related well‐being of rural residents: A case study of Chengdu, China. Regional Science Policy Practice 2023 15 (9), 1893-1907. DOI: 10.1111/rsp3.12604

Focusing on Chengdu Region in China the paper uses mobile phone data to understand rural mobility and the social and orographic factors that influence it. The look into human mobility in remote rural areas, the innovative use of big data and the clear methodological approach allow robust new evidence on rural mobility and justify adequate policy advises.

AND

Ana Maria Bonomi Barufi, Eduardo Amaral Haddad, Peter Nijkamp (2023), Urban agglomeration, city size, and spatial density effects on wage flexibility: New evidence on the wage curve in Brazil. Regional Science Policy Practice 2023 15 (9) Pages 1998-2026. DOI: 10.1111/rsp3.12669

The paper estimates the relation between wages and unemployment considering spatial interaction. Results show the existence of diverse labor markets and concludes that policy makers should be aware of measures to protect formal jobs that, at local level, can increase the wage with informal workers. It is clearly a very good paper able to generate a new common sense on the functioning of labor markets when space is considered.

Congratulations to the prize winners on their achievement!