Guest Editor: Carolina Guevara Rosero, Departamento de Ciencias Administrativas, Escuela Politécnica Nacional - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Developing countries, currently denominated as Global South, are characterized by spatial disparities combined with rapid urbanization, demographic change, and shifting economic structures. These disparities raise urgent questions for policy, as they affect opportunities for growth, the provision of public goods, and the achievement of inclusive and sustainable development. Addressing them requires both robust evidence and a clear understanding of how policy interventions can mitigate inequalities across regions.

This Special Issue invites contributions that advance knowledge on the drivers, consequences, and policy responses to spatial disparities in the Global South. We particularly welcome research that offers actionable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and international organizations, as well as comparative analyses that highlight lessons transferable across contexts.

We welcome high-quality contributions that explore, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• Policy frameworks and strategies to reduce regional inequalities.
• Evaluation of place-based vs. people-based policies in the Global South.
• The effectiveness of infrastructure, transport, and connectivity policies in reducing disparities.
• Agricultural and rural development policies and their spatial impacts.
• Urbanization, housing, and spatial planning policies addressing segregation and inequality.
• Health, education, quality of life and social policies with a territorial perspective.
• Migration, labor mobility, crime, spatial segregation and their implications for regional policy.
• Governance, decentralization, and institutional arrangements for territorial development.
• Innovative tools and methodologies for policy evaluation in regional and urban contexts.
• Lessons from comparative policy experiences across countries in the Global South.

We encourage both theoretical and empirical studies, as well as interdisciplinary approaches that combine insights from economics, geography, sociology, political science, and development studies.

All manuscripts will be submitted via the Regional Science Policy & Practice online submission system (https://www.editorialmanager.com/rspp/). Papers should have between 6000 and 8000 words. Authors should indicate in the cover letter that the paper is submitted for consideration for publication in this special issue “Understanding Spatial Disparities in the Global South: Evidence and Policy Implications”, otherwise, your submission will be handled as a regular manuscript. Regional Science Policy & Practice is a gold open access journal. This means that articles accepted for publication will be subject to the payment of an Article Publishing Charge (APC). Standard fees are described in detail on the journal home page.

Submission deadline: March 31st, 2026