Dave Marcouiller and Steve Deller, Editors of the Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy announce the release of a Special Issue of the Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy (JRAP) on State Rural Development Policy. Guest edited by Edward Feser and Andrew Isserman of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, this issue has been compiled as a tribute to the late Ron Shaffer, regional economist and community development specialist with the University of Wisconsin - Madison/Extension. You can access the Special Issue at:
 http://www.jrap-journal.org/pastvolumes/2000/v37/index371.html

Also, this is being sent to announce the new permanent on-line home of JRAP, the official peer-reviewed journal of the Mid-continent Regional Science Association. Feel free to bookmark  http://www.jrap-journal.org/ for future reference.

This Special Issue includes articles written by a variety of regional scientists:

• Table of Contents - Special Issue on Rural Development Policy (A Tribute to Ron Shaffer), Guest Editors - Edward Feser and Andrew Isserman
• Linking Research and Development Policy 37(1): 1-3. Edward Feser, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Keeping Options Open 37(1): 4-6. Roger Bolton, Williams College
• An Arts-Based State Rural Development Policy 37(1): 7-9. Ann Markusen, University of Minnesota
• Increasing the Equity and Efficiency of Tax Abatement Programs 37(1): 10-14. Scott Loveridge and Denys Nizalov,Michigan State University & Kyiv Economic Institute
• Examples and Principles of State-Level Rural Environmental Initiatives 37(1): 15-17. Amy Ando, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Comprehensive Planning for Sustainable Rural Development 37(1): 18-20. Gerrit-Jan Knaap and Arnab Chakraborty, University of Maryland
• The Economic Case for State-Level Land Use Decision-Making 37(1): 20-24. Stephan J. Goetz, NERCRD - Pennsylvania State University
• Cultural and Recreational Industries in Rural America: Opportunities for State Legislators 37(1): 25-27. William B. Beyers, University of Washington
• “Boosting” Tourism as Rural Public Policy: Panacea or Pandora’s Box? 37(1): 28-31. Dave Marcouiller, University of Wisconsin – Madison/Extension
• Building Community Visions of Assets, Competitiveness, and Regional Partnerships: A State’s Role in Rural Economic Development 37(1): 32-35. Stephan Weiler, Colorado State University
• A Brief on When and How Rural Economic Development Should be Done 37(1): 36-39. Dan Rickman, Oklahoma State University
• Building a 21st Century Rural Workforce 37(1): 40-43. Martin Shields, Colorado State University, and Anastasia Snyder, The Pennsylvania State University
• Rural Economic Development Prospects in a High Energy Cost Environment 37(1): 44-47. Mark D. Partridge, The Ohio State University
• Rural Poverty: Why Should States Care and What Can State Policy Do? 37(1): 48-52. Bruce A. Weber, Oregon State University
• Mitigating Impacts of Big Box Retail on Local Communities 37(1): 53-55. Elena G. Irwin and Jill Clark, Ohio State University
• State-level Rural Health Policy 37(1): 56-59. Paul E. McNamara, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Roles for State Government in International Trade 37(1): 60-61. Alex Winter-Nlson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Impacts of Tax & Expenditure Limitations on Small Local Governments: Lessons from Colorado and Missouri 37(1): 62-65. Judith I. Stallmann, University of Missouri-Columbia
• Rural Telecommunications Subsidies Do Not Help 37(1): 66-68. Michael R. Ward, University of Texas at Arlington
• Encouraging Broadband Deployment from the Bottom Up 37(1): 69-72. Edward Feser, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Getting State Rural Policy Right: Definitions, Growth, and Program Eligibility 37(1): 73-77. Andrew Isserman, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

At the annual convocation of the Royal Institute of Technology last November, John Quigley was awarded an honorary doctor’s degree. Two others received honorary degrees at the same time, including Hans Blix (who was Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency in the early 1990s). 

The citation states that “John Quigley is regarded as the world’s eminent researcher in the fields of regional and urban economics, as well as in areas related to public economics and infrastructure investment.” RSAI congratulates John on a great achievement.

Recently, Professor Manas Chatterji and Professor Walter Isard organized two Regional Science Meetings in Kolkata and Mumbai. Professor Chatterji instituted an indian section prize 'Manas 
Chatterji Award for excellence in research in Regional Science' and an Annual Distinguished Walter Isard Lecture in Regional Science.

1. next meeting of the Indian section will be held in Ahemedabad on16-17, 2009. Among others topics there will be some sections on Spatial Statistics and Spatial Econometrics. Person interested to attend the meeting are requested to contact Professor Chatterji: 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 is delighted to announce the winners of the Fellow awards for 2008. Our congratulations to one and all!! We look forward to presenting these awards at various RSAI conferences throughout 2008. The new fellows are (in alphabetical order)

T.R. Lakshmanan 
Daniel McMillen 
John McDonald 
Jan Oosterhaven 
Harry W. Richardson 
Roger Stough 
Takatoshi Tabuchi 

April 29, 2008

Pair elected to National Academy of Sciences

Two Arizona State University professors – Edward Prescott, Regents’ Professor and Nobel Laureate, and Luc Anselin, founding director of the School of Geographical Sciences – have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. They join 10 other ASU faculty members in the Academy, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advises the federal government on matters of science or technology.

Prescott, who joined ASU in 2003 and is the W. P. Carey Chair of Economics in the W. P. Carey School of Business, is a senior monetary advisor at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank. He was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in economic sciences, being lauded for a lifetime of original thinking that has addressed some of the most important long-standing questions in macroeconomics. He shared the prize with Finn Kydland.

Prescott’s work on business cycles has recast the way economists think about economic fluctuations, arguing that they represent the optimal response of the economy to various shocks. He also is known for his seminal work in policy analysis, economic development, general equilibrium theory and finance.

“I am honored to be elected to the National Academy of Science. I think it is an indicator of the success that ASU economics is having,” says Prescott. “It is a pleasure to work with the students here, including not only the graduate students, but the honors undergraduates I teach as well. I owe my election to my students who I have learned so much from, and to a number of collaborators.”

Anselin, who joined ASU last July, is one of the principal developers of the field of spatial econometrics and is best known for his book “Spatial Econometrics” and his development of the applications SpaceStat and GeoDa.

Anselin also serves as director of the GeoDa Center for Geospatial Analysis and Computation, a 4/29/08 7:50 PM Pair elected to National Academy of Sciences | ASU News Page 2 of 2 http://asunews.asu.edu/20080429_nashonor
Anselin also serves as director of the GeoDa Center for Geospatial Analysis and Computation, a new research unit in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences devoted to the development,
 mplementation and application of state-of-the-art methods of geospatial analysis to policy issues in the social and environmental sciences.

“I think this is fantastic and an important recognition of the contribution of spatial thinking and spatial analysis to science. It also means that the School of Geographical Sciences becomes one of the very few geography units in the U.S. where there are two members of NAS among the faculty,” Anselin says. NAS member Billie Lee Turner, a national leader in sustainability science, recently joined ASU as the Gilbert F. White Chair in Environment and Society in the School of Geographical Sciences.

"On behalf of the entire ASU community I congratulate Professors Luc Anselin and Ed Prescott on this greatly deserved honor," says ASU President Michael M. Crow. "The scholarship of ASU's faculty and students has been repeatedly recognized by honors, awards, fellowships and grants. Election to the National Academy of Sciences is one of the greatest distinctions that any scholar can achieve."

Prescott and Anselin were among 72 new members who were elected April 29 to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Those new members bring the total number of active members to 2,041.

Other ASU faculty members who are NAS members include Charles Arntzen, Jane Buikstra, Roy Curtiss, Bert Hoelldobler, Elinor Ostrom, John Rowell, Rustum Roy, V. Kerry Smith and Hoyt Tillman.

Carol Hughes, 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.
480-965-6375
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

The votes have now been counted and the final result is

190 for the changes - 6 against the changes

The constitutional changes are therefore approved.

Thank you all for your votes (and comments).

The 6 against were mainly concerned with the wording regarding the section's option of which Supra Regional Organization it would belong to. The intent of the wording was to enable a section to self determine what and how many Supra Regionals it would join. We are initiating discussions to address the issue and try to clarify the wording.

Best wishes

Graham Clarke

Roger Stough

Roberta Capello

ANTOINE BAILLY

Professor Antoine (Tony) Bailly is one of the most diverse Founder’s Medal recipients to date having achieved excellence in scholarship and research but also in such arenas as institution building, international relations, teaching, leadership and in several hobbies including alpine skiing, mountain climbing and cycling. As such he serves as an exemplar of human achievement and a model for all of his RSAI colleagues. We pay tribute to his long and distinguished career as a fellow regional scientist and the leadership he has provided in bestowing the Founder’s Medal of the RSAI on him.

Tony’s scholarly contributions have first been recognized in the 70’s and 80’s in the francophone world. His textbooks in geography and regional science were best sellers with translations in Italian and Spanish. His pionnier works in behavioural geography, geography of well being and spatial medicometry found a broad recognition. Tony has published in English and other languages in the 90’s and there can be no mistake that his 300 hundred  journal articles and 32 books are a testament to a life of intense, serious and creative scholarship that has contributed broadly and deeply to regional science but also to geography, planning,  philosophy of sciences and medical analytical methodology. At the same time Tony made many and rich contributions in the form of service to these fields, various universities and other organizations in the form of institution building and capacity expansion. He chaired the Social Sciences section of the University of Geneva and became president of the University Council. In regional science Tony chaired 3 associations and RSAI to promote the concept of “universal membership”. He was also active in many planning institutions in Switzerland, France, and European Union.

Thus it is with great honor and fondness that we recognize our colleague Antoine Bailly with the 2008 award of the Founder’s Medal.

A brief listing of a selection of his achievements follows:

Selected University Positions and Related Associations

Professor of Geography, University of Geneva, INRS Montréal, School of Architecture Paris

President, University of Geneva Council

President, University of Geneva Association of University Professors

President, Association of Swiss University Professors

Honarary Doctorate: Docteur Honoris Causa University of Québec

Selected National and International Recognition (Past or Present)

 Past and Honorary President of French Speaking Regional Science Association

President, Western Regional Science Association

Vice President of ERSA and chair of the Long Range Planning Committee

President, Regional Science Association International

President, Swiss National Committee of the International Geographic Union (IGU)

President of the IGU Applied Geography Commission

Beaulieu Prize for Medicometric Research (Switzerland)

Chevalier (Knight) dans l’Ordre Nationoal du Mérite (France)

Foreign member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Italian  Geographic Society

Past Scientific Director of the International Festival in Geography (France)

Selected Editorial Boards (Past or Present)

L’ Espace Geographique

La Revued’ Economie Régionale et Urbaine

La Revue de Géographie Alpine

Progress in Geography

La Revue canadienne de Science Régionale

Papers in Regional Science

Annals of Regional Science

Geographia Helvetica

Finisterra

Mappemonde

RSAI members are invited to nominate distinguished scholars for consideration to become 2010 Fellows of RSAI. The nomination process can be initiated by any member of RSAI and consists of a letter of nomination, detailing the scientific merit and contribution of the nominee and an up to date curriculum vitae. Current Fellows are not allowed to submit nominations. To ensure full consideration by the committee, these materials should be provided in electronic format (pdf preferred) by January 31, 2010 to Geoffrey Hewings, Chair 2010 Fellows Election Committee 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..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.

The RSAI is dellighted to announce the new Fellows for 2009. Congratulations to all on this marvellous achievement. The presentations will take place at the three Supra-regional meetings later this year.

Here is the list in alphabetical order:

Antoine Bailly

Richard Church

Bernard Fingleton

Reginald Golledge

Peter Gordon

Daniel Griffith

Keith Ihlanfeldt

James LeSage

Janice Madden

Piet Rietveld

Anthony Venables

RSAI has the great pleasure to announce that the jury of the Martin Beckmann Prizehas chosen the paper "Good governance, trade and agglomeration (nr.4, p 483-504) by Fabien Candau (Université de Pau) as the best paper published in 2008 in PiRs and thus as the winner of the Martin Beckmann Prize 2009. Many congratulations to Fabien.