RSAI is pleased to announce that the 2010 Dissertation prize has been awarded to Frank Neffke of the Erasmus University Rotterdam for his thesis on 'Productive Places, the influence of technological change and relatedness on agglomeration externalities'.

Congratulations Frank!

 2010 Dissertation Prize

Dear all,

the new RSAI Newsletter November 2011 can now be found under

 http://www.regionalscience.org/Publications/RSAI-Newsletters/

Call for nominations for the 2013 William Alonso Prize - due by June 15, 2012

The Alonso Prize Committee invites nominations for the 2013 Alonso Prize. 

Although occasionally awarded to an article, the Alonso Prize is primarily a book prize that recognizes outstanding recent research contributions to regional science in the spirit of the work of Dr. William Alonso, author of Location and Land Use, often credited with launching the field of urban economics. Nominations may come from any individual or organization including book publishers, university departments, government agencies, and other public or private entities.

* The nominated work must be a book published in 2007 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.

* Five copies of the book must be received by June 15, 2012 at Alonso Prize, GeoDa Center, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Coor Hall, MC-5302, P.O. Box 875302, 975 S. Myrtle Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85287-5302.

* 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.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 five copies of the book to be sent, either 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.

The Prize Committee consists of: Prof. Luc Anselin, Chair, Arizona State University; Prof. Kyung-Hwan Kim, Sogan University; Prof. Amy Glasmeier, MIT; Prof. Philip McCann, University of Groningen, and Prof. Koichi Mera, Secretary and Treasurer, ex-University of Southern California. 

For all inquiries, please contact Luc Anselin at 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.. 

Further details on the Alonso prize can also be found at  http://www.narsc.org/newsite/?page_id=30.

Dear all,

the new RSAI Newsletter May 2012 can now be found under

 http://www.regionalscience.org/Publications/RSAI-Newsletters/

The volume of Spring (number 22) of the journal of the Spanish Regional Science Association (AECR) Investigaciones Regionales is already available both on line (www.investigacionesregionales.com) and printable version. This last volume is a multidisciplinary and international compilation with papers both in Spanish and English. It contains six scientific-academic papers. Firstly, Alvarez, Myro and Vega analyze the delocation in the manufacturing sectors in the EU from the regional perspective (with a sample of 75 regions) and its effects on job losses during the 2000-2005 period. In the second paper, Moreno, Renart and Vidal endeavor to carry out a study of the weaknesses and errors detected by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in the reports presented by 15 European countries on the economic and financial management of Structural Funds in the period 2000-2006. Casares, Coto-Millán and Inglada analyze the role played by the talent and the technology, with other exogenous factors such as diversity and territorial, on the economic development among the Spanish NUTS-3 regions. Natario, Almeida and Couto de Sousa examine through probabilistic econometric models the innovation processes of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in peripheral areas, particularly in the municipality of Guarda and in the Islands of the Azores in Portugal. Marti and Rodenas investigate the reasons that lead migrants to perform multiple migration in Spain in the period 2003-2005. Their probabilistic analysis indicates that repeated migration of nationals and non nationals respond to different reasons, such as labour experiences for non nationals and additional factors for the Spanish. In the last paper, Rubiera-Morollon, Fernandez-Vazquez and Aponte-Jaramillo estimate and analyze labour productivity in the Spanish cities. They propose the use of entropy econometrics to estimate urban income and productivity according to city size allowing them to measure agglomeration economics. In addition to these papers, this volume also contain two technical notes. In the first one, Duarte, Perez and Pfeilstetter deals with the currently widely discussed entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and investigates the roles this concept actually plays within the LEADER+ development program and its implementation in three European territories. In the second one, Clifton, Diaz-Fuentes, Fernandez-Gutierrez and Revuelta analyze from a regional perspective the use of Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI) to which general access in equal conditions is considered key for social and territorial cohesion by European regulation policymakers, particularly after privatization, liberalization and desregulation processes at the supply side. Finally, Boix and Lazzeretti display a panoramical review and state of the art of the creative industries at Spain, introducing the basic theoretical aspects, the measurement of creativity, compared data about production, employment and the location of creative industries, as well as the discussion about policy. A review of the book 'The political economy of interregional fiscal flows. Measurement, determinants and effects on country stability' and other news on books and related journals are also contained in the Spring volume of Investigaciones Regionales.

We have great pleasure in informing you that Peter Nijkamp has received a doctorate honoris causa from the University of the Algarve in Faro on Thursday, 14 June 2012. He got this highest sign of scientific recognition for his long-standing path-breaking contributions to regional science, his active role model for young scientists and his world-wide involvement with regional development issues. Peter Nijkamp is already doctor honoris causa at the Universities of Brussel, Athens and Bucharest.

Jordi Suriñach, new president of the AECR The Spanish Regional Science Association-Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional has renewed the Board of the Asociación for the next

4 years. The new period will begin next 1st of july 2012 since june 2016. The new Board is:

President: Jordi Suriñach Caralt. University of Barcelona

Secretary: Miguel Angel Marquez Paniagua. University of Extremadura

Treasurer: Ruben Garrido Yserte. University of ALcalá de Henares.

Jordi Suriñach is Professor of Applied Economics, Director of the Research Institute of Applied Economics (IREA), and member of the AQR-IREA research group. He was the Chairman of the 51th Barcelona ERSA Conference in 2011.

Call for Applications - Editor-in-Chief,

Papers in Regional Science (PiRS)

The Regional Science Association International (RSAI) seeks candidates for the position of editor-in-chief of the official journal of the association, Papers in Regional Science. PiRS is a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to advancing fundamental knowledge in regional science from its multiple theoretical and methodological perspectives, and is one of the highest ranked journals in the field of regional science. Candidates should be RSAI members who possess wide knowledge of urban and regional phenomena as well as distinguished records of scholarly contributions internationally. Candidates should also possess strong intellectual vision, leadership and organizational abilities, and experience relevant to editing a leading journal in the field of regional science. The appointment will start January 1, 2013 and continue for a three-year renewable term.

The editor’s primary responsibility is to continue to enhance the journal’s quality, reputation, and scholarship. The editor will be expected to leverage achievements of previous editorial teams, and strengthen the journal’s competitive position in support of RSAI’s worldwide mission. The editor will also demonstrate visionary leadership in developing editorial policies and initiatives that stimulate novel ways to theorize and analyze the changing reality of urban and regional environments so as to represent the full spectrum of high-quality research conducted worldwide in the regional science community.

PiRS is currently published by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. The editor manages the editorial office, oversees the manuscript submission and review process and is responsible for the content, quality and timeliness of each issue of PiRS. The editor is responsible for maintaining PiRS editorial policies and procedures and establishing new policies and procedures as deemed appropriate to maintain the leadership of the journal.

The editor recommends an international team of associate editors and a book review editor to help administer the peer review process, promote excellence in content and advance editorial initiatives.

The PiRS editor reports to RSAI through the RSAI Council.

Detailed information on responsibilities and on the process for applying for the editor-in-chief position is available below.

Letters of interest must be received by July 30, 2012.

Specific duties of the Editor-in-Chief and journal editorial office include:

Application process:

Interested individuals should submit an application package that includes:

All requested information should be submitted by e-mail as a single PDF file to Professor Jean-Claude Thill, RSAI Vice President and PiRS Editor Search Committee Chair, 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..

For questions related to the position and to the selection process, please contact Professor Jean-Claude Thill, RSAI Vice President and PiRS Editor Search Committee Chair, 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.

International PhD Program

Interdisciplinary Landscape Management

The PhD on Interdisciplinary Landscape Management was created three years ago – as a joint PhD Program involving the University of the Azores, the University of Évora and the Technical University of Lisbon - by a group of Portuguese lecturers and researchers very much connected internationally with Regional Science, Landscape Ecology, Agricultural Economics, Environmental Economics and Nature and Forestry Management.

Until now PhD students, around come from Alentejo, Lisbon, Azores, Madeira, Angola and next year the first group will present their PhD thesis. The scientific committee of the PhD program things this is the right time to further internationalize the PhD Program, providing classes in English and enlarging the geographical scope of the students. We would like to involve next year 6 to 12 very good students able to interact creatively between scientific established paradigms and very much interested in addressing the scientific and policy challenges of the landscape.

The program involves one semester in Portugal and the development of the thesis can be done either in Portugal or in any other place with whom there are still effective links (US, Denmark, Brazil, Spain, Angola...) or with whom it is possible to establish strong research interactions.

The aim of this PhD program is the development of methodologies and scientific  capabilities to support the design and evaluation of public policies and the creation of management tools that can help meet the growing demands of society for the multiple goods and services provided by the rural landscapes (agriculture, recreation, biodiversity, water, carbon sequestration, energy, etc.).

Students that are interested should, first, send their CV and letter of motivation to one of the members of the scientific committee

University of Évora: 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.

Technical University of Lisbon/High Institute for Agronomy: 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.

University of the Azores / Campus of Angra do Heroísmo: 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.

RSAI members from all over the world have in the past year participated in an extensive series of dedicated sessions (in Europe, Asia, America) on the ‘New Urban World’ ( http://www.ires.ma/en/meetings-and-debates/future-challenges-new-urban-world-what-model-development-moroccan-city). The main coordinators of this novel initiative were Karima Kourtit, Peter Nijkamp and Mark Partridge, strongly supported by the RSAI secretariat and supraregional and national sections. On the occasion of the ERSA meeting in Bratislava (August 2012) an extensive prime-time television interview with Peter Nijkamp on this initiative was broadcasted. A link to this tv interview – and a related newspaper interview – can be found on  http://www.ta3.com/clanok/1004665/host-v-studiu-peter-nijkamp-ake-budu-mesta-v-buducnosti.html.