The forthcoming meeting of Urban and Regional Economics Seminar Group (URESG) will be held on 6-7 January 2011 at the London Centre of the Open University. This meeting will focus on the theme: Small, Open Economies and the Financial Crisis. Instead of a Call for Papers, as has been customary for most previous meetings, the Seminar will be organized around presentations by invited speakers. These include Leslie Budd (OU), Ian Gordon (LSE), Geoffrey Hewings (University of Illinois), Helena Lenihan (University of Limerick), Phil McCann (University of Groningen), Vassilis Monastiriotis (LSE) and Kim Swales (University of Strathclyde). The Seminar will focus on the extent to which the current financial crisis has had an impact on particular metropolitan, regional and national economies, and on how the crisis has involved differential impacts. Attention will also be directed to the manner in which economies have reacted to the crisis and to the effectiveness of various policy responses.

A Programme and Booking Form, together with further information and accommodation details, will be distributed around mid-October, and further information or provisional booking available from Calvin Jones, Welsh Economy Research Unit, Cardiff Business School at jonesc24@cf.ac.uk. There is to be no Registration Fee for this meeting, although for purposes of planning and organization, a booking is required. Anyone wishing to participate in this Seminar, whether or not an existing member of the Group, will be very welcome. The Committee very much hopes that the Seminar will be of interest to researchers in universities, consultancies, and central and local government.

A preliminary version of the programme for the 39th Annual Conference of the Regional Science Association British and Irish Section to be held in Glasgow on the 25-27 August 2010 is now available.

The winners for the 2009 Student Awards, recognising the best essays in Regional Science by students and early career members of the association, have been announced. The winners in the three categories are:

Research Student Award

“Iterative Proportional Fitting: History and Practice”
Maja Založnik (University of Liverpool)

Taught Postgraduate Student Award

“The Impact of a 50MW Wave Farm Development in Scotland on the Scottish Economy – A Supply Chain and Input-Output Analysis”
Nikki Keddie (University of Strathclyde)

Undergraduate Student Award (Joint winners)

“Not on our doorstep! – A local perspective on Greater Manchester’s attempt to reduce congestion”
Andrew Cooper (University of Sheffield)

“An investigation of the impacts of the daily rail commute on commuter stress”
Jennie Evans (University of Sheffield)

Professor Philip McCann from the Faculty of Spatial Sciences in the University of Groningen, and Chairperson of the British and Irish Section of RSAI, has been appointed as a Special Adviser to Johannes Hahn, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy. Philip will work alongside the other Special Adviser Fabrizio Barca, Director General of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, and author of the 2009 Independent Report An Agenda for a Reformed Cohesion Policy. Both Special Advisers will provide expert counsel to Commissioner Hahn on matters relating to the reform and future development of European Cohesion Policy. The period of appointment is from 1 April 2010 until 31 March 2011.

For more information see:

University of Groningen

Regional Studies Association (RSA)

European Regional Science Association (ERSA)

The Regional Science Association International: British and Irish Section invites the submission of abstracts for their 39th Annual Conference, to be held in Glasgow from August 25-27, 2010.

Suggested themes for the conference are listed below, though quality papers in all areas of regional science are welcome.

• Regional Growth and Productivity
• Differential Regional Impacts of the Current Economic Crisis
• Sustainable Regional Development
• Regional Energy Use and Environmental Impacts
• Patterns of Migration and Implications for Regional Labour Markets
• Evaluating Regional Development Policies
• Spatial Analysis and Geodemographics
• Multisectoral Modelling Approaches
• Innovation and Competitiveness
• Spatial Productivity Disparities
• Transport and Infrastructure
• Rural Economies and Communities

There will be Special Session for early career/doctoral students with prizes for the best conference paper and the best conference presentation by early career researchers.

Early career researchers are those engaged in or having recently completed PhD study in regional science.  Those applying for the best presentation must be at a stage prior to a PhD viva date.  Applicants for the best conference paper must be within 3 years of their PhD viva.  If you are eligible and wish to be considered for these prizes please bring this to the attention of the Secretary when you submit your abstract.

Please submit abstracts of up to 300 words by e-mail to the Secretary at the address below as soon as possible and by February 12th 2010 at the very latest. Authors will be notified of the committee’s decision in April 2009.

For any further information regarding the conference please contact the Secretary: Dr Declan Jordan, Secretary RSAI:BIS, Department of Economics, University College Cork, Western Road, Cork, Ireland. E-mail: d.jordan@ucc.ie.

The Regional Science Association International – British and Irish Section (RSAIBIS) is inviting applications for three student awards in Regional Science. Essays in any area of Regional Science (spatial economics, quantitative economic geography) are judged by a 4-member committee. The awards are:

Research Student / Early Career Award
Applicants should be either current postgraduate research students or individuals who have completed their postgraduate studies in the last three academic years in any area of Regional Science. Only single authored (published or unpublished) papers are eligible; full PhD dissertations will not be accepted.

Taught Postgraduate Student Award
Applicants should be taught postgraduate research students in any area of Regional Science. Submissions should be an MSc/MA dissertation.

Undergraduate Student Award
Applicants should be undergraduate students in any area of Regional Science. Submissions should be an undergraduate dissertation (5,000 – 10,000 words).

Details are provided on the attached Call For Submissions. The closing date for receipt of submissions for all three prizes is November 30th, 2009.

The Research Student Award was awarded to Rosa Sanchis-Guarner (London School of Economics and Political Science) for her research work on “Analysing migrations from a New Economic Geography approach: Some evidence for the Spanish case” – Amaya Vega (National University of Ireland, Galway) received a commendation for her work on “Residential location and travel to work mode choice under central and suburban employment destination patterns”.

Benjamin Dachis (London School of Economics and Political Science) was awarded the Taught Postgraduate Student Award for his paper on “The determinants of airport cargo volume: An empirical analysis of the location of express package and air cargo activity in the United States”.

The Undergraduate Student Award was awarded to Jenny Runnacles (University of Bristol) for her paper on “Why are there so many smokers in China? A Multi-level Analysis of geographical variations in smoking Prevalence.

This Workshop will take place from 29 April to 1 May 2007 (inclusive), and will be held in Tel-Aviv. The overall theme for this Workshop is Regional Science: Extending the Frontiers. The primary organisation will be undertaken by the Israeli Section of RSAI, coordinated by Danny Felsenstein and Amnon Frankel. The cost of accommodation will be covered, and assistance with travel expenses may be available, but only for a very limited number of participants. On the final day of the Workshop it is planned to have a tour of Northern Israel, but alternatives may be arranged, depending on the preferences of the participants.

Those who have attended previous Workshops in this series will recall the pleasant as well as productive aspect of such occasions (the Fourth Workshop, held in Edinburgh in 2003, gave rise to a Special Issue of the Annals of Regional Science, entitled “Linking Supply and Demand in Local Labour Markets”). Although intended primarily for members of the Israeli and the British & Irish Sections, members of other sections are welcome to attend, subject to availability of places. Anyone interested in presenting a paper, or participating in the Workshop in some other way, is asked to contact John Parr before 19th February.