Professor Sven Erlander died on June 13 2021 at the age of 87.

He was a leading scholar in regional and transportation science.

His academic field was optimization with contributions of lasting value in transportation modelling.

Sven Erlander was for twelve years President of Linköping University.

Reported by Björn Hårsman, Lars-Göran Mattsson and Folke Snickars

We have decided to extend the Special Sessions Proposals submissions deadline for the 2021 APDR Congress until June 30, 2021.

We take this opportunity to remind you that the congress it will be held in Vila Real from September 16 to 17, 2021 and that the theme of this edition is “Green and inclusive transitions in Southern European regions: What can we do better?”.

All the necessary information so that you can send your work and register can be found on the website of the 2021 APDR Congress.

Deadline for Special Session proposals: June 30, 2021 (new date). Proposals should be sent by email to the secretariat of the Congress (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Deadline for Abstracts submissions: July 5, 2021. Authors should submit their abstracts through online submission system by following the link https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/APDR2021.

We look forward to your participation and see you soon in Vila Real.

Regards,

The Organizing Committee and the Board of APDR

The RSAI Fellows Committee, made up of Prof. Roberto Camagni (Chair), Prof. Kiyoshi Kobayashi, and Prof. Janice Madden, received and evaluated five excellent candidatures for this year's RSAI Fellows election. Thanks to the Committee for carefully reviewing them, and concluding that all were suitable for being voted by the RSAI Fellows, as the rules of this award dictate.

RSAI Fellows then voted, and the following four new Fellows have been elected this year:

1. Prof. Amit Batabyal (RIT, USA) 
2. Prof. Alessandra Faggian (GSSI, Italy)
3. Prof. Randall Jackson (West Virginia University, USA)
4. Prof. Kara Kockelmann (University of Texas at Austin, USA)

Congratulations to the new Fellows on the outstanding achievement!

Thank you in advance for your attention,

Kind regards,

The RSAI joins the global regional science community in congratulating Prof. Juan Cuadrado-Roura, University of Alcalá, on winning the 2021 ERSA prize.

Congratulations Juan!

ISSUE INFORMATION

Free Access

Issue Information

Pages: 603-604 | First Published: 10 June 2021

FULL ARTICLES

Open Access

The persistent pay gap between Easterners and Westerners in Germany: A quarter‐century after reunification

Heather Dickey, Alessa M. Widmaier

Pages: 605-631 | First Published: 14 January 2021

Spatial impact of factors influencing the achievement of the Europa2020 employment targets

Jorge Chica-Olmo, Marina Checa-Olivas

Pages: 633-649 | First Published: 11 January 2021

Does social capital reduce entrepreneurs' petty corruption? Evidence across Indonesian regions

Julien Hanoteau, Gandhi Pawitan, Virginie Vial

Pages: 651-670 | First Published: 03 December 2020

Cultural and creative industries and regional diversification: Does size matter?

Gloria Cicerone, Alessandro Crociata, Daniele Mantegazzi

Pages: 671-687 | First Published: 11 November 2020

Open Access

Proximity across the distant worlds of university–industry collaborations

Utku Ali Rıza Alpaydın, Rune Dahl Fitjar

Pages: 689-711 | First Published: 24 November 2020

The internal geography of services value‐added in exports: A Latin American perspective

Eduardo A. Haddad, Inácio F. Araújo

Pages: 713-744 | First Published: 18 December 2020

Local demand shocks and firms' survival: An application to the Italian economy during the Great Recession

Giovanni Marin, Marco Modica

Pages: 745-775 | First Published: 28 November 2020

Market concentration in the Spanish turbot aquaculture sector: A regional analysis

Raquel Fernández-González, Marcos I. Pérez-Pérez, María Dolores Garza Gil

Pages: 777-794 | First Published: 03 December 2020

Mosquitoes, birth rates and regional spillovers: Evidence from the Zika epidemic in Brazil

Lívia Madeira Triaca, Felipe Garcia Ribeiro, César Augusto Oviedo Tejada

Pages: 795-813 | First Published: 18 December 2020

Proposing new measures of employment deconcentration and spatial dispersion across metropolitan areas in the US

John R. Hipp, Jae Hong Kim, Benjamin Forthun

Pages: 815-841 | First Published: 12 January 2021

BOOK REVIEW

Invisible China: How the urban–rural divide threatens China's rise Edited by Scott Rozelle Natalie Hell, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2020. US$27.50, Hb, 231pp. ISBN 978‐0‐226‐73952‐6

Amitrajeet A. Batabyal

Pages: 843-844 | First Published: 23 March 2021

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the edition of a special issue of Regional Science Policy & Practice, linked to the International Regional Science Association (RSAI), with the theme of the special session S04 - Territorial inequalities and spatial (in) justice in Europe whose Coordinator is Ana Viñuela.

We also announce a special issue of Investigaciones Regionales-Journal of Regional Research linked to special session 07 - Industry 4.0 and sustainability in regions, clusters & industrial districts whose coordinator is José Hervas-Oliver.

We remind you that the abstract submission deadline for the XLVI Regional Studies Meeting is until Thursday, June 10, 2021 (this deadline cannot be extended so as not to affect the rest of the program dates).

The templates of all the formats of the summary can be downloaded from the website here.

We look forward to your participation and see you soon in Madrid.

Regards,

The Organizing Committee

Dear colleagues,

Due to the high number of petitions received, we have decided to extend the abstract submission deadline for the XLVI Regional Studies Meeting  until Thursday, June 10, 2021 (this deadline cannot be extended so as not to affect the rest of the program dates).

We take this opportunity to remind you that it will be held in Madrid from November 24 to 26, 2021 and that the motto of this edition is “Full cities, empty territories”.

We ask you to disseminate this information to all the people you may consider interested in participating. We remind you that the maximum length is 300 words and will be uploaded through the management area. The presentation of results of research works in progress for which there is not yet a complete article will be accepted. In order for the Scientific Committee to consider the acceptance of said works, an expanded abstract will be required, with a minimum length of 1,500 words. The templates of all the formats of the summary can be downloaded from the website here.

All the necessary information so that you can send your work and register can be found on the website of the XLVI Regional Studies Meeting.

We look forward to your participation and see you soon in Madrid.

Regards,

The Organizing Committee

One of India's pioneers in Regional Science, Prof. R. P. Mishra (1930–2021), has passed away

Dr. (Prof.) Rameshwar Prasad Mishra (1930–2021), popularly known as R. P. Mishra, was a notable Indian regional scientist who contributed immensely to the development of regional science in the second half of the last century in India. Prof. Mishra was born in British India, had a double master's degree both in geography and economics, and did his doctoral research at the University of Maryland and was a Fulbright fellow. He along with G.S.Ghosal, and C.R.Pathak provided the second-generation leadership for the development of Indian Geography. He had got the distinct opportunity to do their higher studies in the united states when the discipline had been undergoing through a paradigm shift under the influence of Richard Hartshorne. He, however, could not remain isolated from the changes that the discipline had been undergoing on the account of the positivist-led quantification. His contribution in the early phase of independent India's economic planning with close contact with the Planning Commission of India and other administrative levels made the foundation of the solid economic trajectory of contemporary India. Moreover, His books ‘Regional Planning: Concepts, Techniques, Policies, and Case Studies (1992), Local Level Planning and Development (1998) are the classic textbooks for graduate students in India, inspired many young minds to follow the path of regional planning. Prof. Mishra’s early writings have significantly emphasized the importance of central places and growth poles in the spatial diffusion of development, and as a strategy for the reduction of mass poverty in India. He was also the pioneer to link up the strategy of environmental planning with regional economic planning considering the overall sustainability of the natural environment in the early twentieth century. He also restructured the growth pole theory, especially for newly independent counties in Asia during 1970-80. But, unfortunately, most of his works are now not available in digital forms, and outside India, he is relatively unknown. Apart from his academic contribution, he had a firm belief in Gandhian philosophy, therefore, wrote several books in this area to disseminate his doctrine.

Prof. Mishra was awarded by Bhoogol Ratna (the highest award in the field of Geography in India given by the National Association of Geographers, India); Lifetime Achievement award by the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council; the first recipient of the prestigious National Mahatma Gandhi Fellowship and the Scholarly Achievement Award by the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, Tokyo in 1992. Prof. Mishra worked as Vice-Director, United Nations Center for Regional Development (UNCRD), Nagoya Japan. Between 1984 to 87, he served as Vice-Chancellor of Allahabad University. He was also founding director of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), the University of Mysore where he closely worked with resource persons from Israel in the diffusion of agricultural technology in India. Finally, Prof. Mishra was always remembered for his wisdom, scholarship and dedication for the expansion of regional science in India.

On the behalf of Regional Science Association, India

Manoranjan Ghosh and Hemant Kumar

Figure 1: Prof. R. P. Mishra (setting in the extreme right) with international delegations (Source: http://profrpmishra.com/)					Figure 2: Prof. R. P. Mihsra with former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (Source: http://profrpmishra.com/)

Organizational Unit: United Nations University Centre, Tokyo, Japan

Reference Number: 2021/UNU/HQ/RO/FTA/R/79015

Applications to: Chair of the Nominating Committee

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

Closing Date: 15 July 2021

About the Organisation:

UNU is the academic arm of the United Nations and for the last four decades has been a go-to think tank for evidence-based research on the pressing global problems of human survival, development, and welfare. Fully funded through voluntary-contributions, UNU counts over 400 researchers in 12 countries, and its work spans the full breadth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, generating policy-relevant knowledge to effect positive global change in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. UNU maintains numerous collaborations with UN agencies, leading universities, and research centres. For more information, please visit https://unu.edu

The Position:

The United Nations University (UNU) is recruiting a new Rector. The Rector is the chief academic and administrative officer of the University and has overall responsibility for the direction, organization, administration, and programmes of the University. The Rector is appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations after consultation with the Director-General of UNESCO. The position carries the rank of United Nations Under-Secretary-General and requires extensive overseas travel.

Required qualifications:

Advanced university degree, with strong preference for a Ph.D. The successful candidate must have a prominent academic profile with evidence of high-quality research work in the course of his/her career. In addition, he/she will demonstrate an understanding of contemporary development and policymaking challenges and will have experience translating research for policy communities. Demonstrated management experience as the head of a university or research centre is required. Fluency in English is essential.

Desirable qualifications and characteristics:

Established profile in the international community. Experience in managing donor relations and raising funds for organizations. Knowledge, appreciation of, and commitment to the principles and ideals of the United Nations. Capability to maintain close cooperation with individuals, governments, and research institutions worldwide to promote scientific cooperation. Great drive and initiative to achieve the goals of UNU. Demonstrated commitment to gender and diversity issues. Fluency in other official United Nations languages is desirable.

Start Date:

It is expected that the appointee will take up the position on 1 March 2023.

Duration of Contract:

The initial appointment will be for a five-year term, with the possibility of a second term.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. UNU is committed to achieving gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. The University has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.

Remuneration:

UNU offers an attractive package at the Under-Secretary-General level within the UN system, including an annual net salary and post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in Tokyo. Benefits include 30 days annual leave, dependency benefits, pension plan and health insurance, and applicable additional benefits and entitlements.

Application Procedure:

Interested candidates should email their applications in English to the UNU Rectorship Nominating Committee at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than 15 July 2021.

The application must contain the following supporting documents:

• a cover letter describing how the candidate’s qualifications and experience match the requirements,
• a curriculum vitae,
• a list of publications, and
• a completed and signed UNU Personal History (P.11) form, which can be downloaded at https://unu.edu/about/unu-services/hr/applying-for-a-position#files; please avoid using similar forms provided by other United Nations organisations.

Human rights screening:

Individuals who seek to serve with the United Nations in any individual capacity will be required, if short-listed, to complete a self-attestation stating that they have not committed, been convicted of, nor prosecuted for, any criminal offence and have not been involved, by act or omission, in the commission of any violation of international human rights law or international humanitarian law.

Conflicts of interest:

All United Nations staff members are expected to uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity. Senior leaders in particular, have the responsibility to serve as role models in upholding the organization’s ethical standards. Short-listed individuals will also be required to complete the pre-appointment declaration of interests for senior positions to identify possible conflicts of interest that may arise and to proactively prevent and manage, as much as possible and in a timely manner, situations in which personal interests may conflict or appear to conflict with interests of the United Nations, should the individual be appointed to this position.

https://unu.edu/about/hr/academic/rector-under-secretary-general.html#overview