XLVIII Annual Scientific Conference 2027

Call for papers – XLVIII Annual Scientific Conference

Padova, 5-7 July 2027

Presentation  | Themes  |  How to Join  | Deadlines 2027 | Submissions  |  Awards  |  Registration  |  Committees  |  Contact

INSTITUTIONS AND THE GEOGRAPHY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

 CALL FOR PAPERS (printable pdf)

Presentation

The Italian Association of Regional Science (AISRe), the Italian section of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI), announces its 48th Annual Scientific Conference.
The conference, which welcomes contributions from national and international scholars across a variety of disciplines related to regional science, will be held at the School of Economics and Political Science of the University of Padua.

The main theme of the conference will be exploring how institutions shape the geography of economic development and influence the different regional and territorial development trajectories. Institutions, understood as both formal rules, such as constitutions, laws, and property rights, and informal constraints, such as sanctions, traditions, and codes of conduct, shape governance and organizational structures that regulate economic and social interactions and play a fundamental role in regional development processes. They influence the capacity of regions and territories to attract investment, promote entrepreneurship, develop human capital, reduce regional inequalities, shape agglomeration economies, and foster innovation in response to economic, social, and environmental transformations. At the same time, institutions help shape spatial development patterns, land-use dynamics, urban and regional planning processes, and the territorial distribution of economic activities, population, infrastructure, and services, thereby influencing accessibility, connectivity, and the spatial organization of economic and social activities.

Understanding the relationship between institutions and economic development, therefore, requires a territorial perspective that recognizes how institutional configurations interact with the specific characteristics, resources, and development opportunities of different regions. Regions do not develop in isolation, nor do they follow uniform development paths. Their economic performance and long-term prospects are deeply influenced by the quality of institutions, the effectiveness of multi-level governance systems, and the capacity of local and regional actors to coordinate collective action. These dynamics raise important questions about the conditions under which institutions can support convergence, reduce territorial inequalities, and promote more balanced patterns of development.

The geography of economic development is also increasingly shaped by the interaction between global transformations and territorially embedded institutional systems. Technological change, digitalization, the green transition, demographic shifts, geopolitical shocks, and the reorganization of global value chains are creating new opportunities and challenges for regions, while exposing their different capacities to adapt and respond. In this context, the relationship between national frameworks and regional institutional systems becomes particularly relevant.

Decentralization processes, regional autonomy, intergovernmental relations, and the design of place-based policies can significantly affect territories’ ability to capitalize on emerging opportunities. Moreover, the role of universities, firms, public administrations, financial institutions, and civil society organizations is crucial in shaping regional innovation ecosystems and strengthening the institutional conditions for sustainable economic development.

Besides the main theme, the AISRe conference encourages discussion on the major topics in regional science. Thus, AISRe invites all those interested to present original scientific works on the following themes.

Themes

1. Governance, regional and territorial public policies, European programming
2. Growth, decline, and regional disparities
3. Globalization, value chains and local production systems
4. Methods of territorial analysis and spatial econometrics
5. Labor, welfare, personal services and social policies
6. Tourism, culture and local development
7. Urban planning, real estate market and city development processes
8. Infrastructure, transport, mobility and local development
9. Wellbeing, sustainability, and local development
10. Urban development and agglomeration economies
11. Development and local entrepreneurship
12. Innovation, creativity and local development
13. Policy evaluation methods

HOW TO JOIN THE ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

There are two ways to participate in the Conference:

• With the organized sessions. Participants can propose themselves as session organizers (no more than one session per organizer) on specific themes. The proposal can be submitted directly from the login area of the website, by entering the name of the scientific manager, the session title, and the tentative number of presentations. The deadline for the submission is December 18, 2026.
• with individual papers. Those interested should submit an abstract by January 29, 2027, directly from login area of the website. The detailed instructions for presenting authors on the editing of papers are available at the conference website (link here).

Deadlines 2027

SUBMISSION OF CONTRIBUTIONS

I. Submission of organized sessions

An individual member or another scientific association may submit a session proposal including up to five planned contributions. The proposal must indicate the session title, the name of the scientific coordinator, and the titles of the proposed papers. At this stage, the submission of full papers or abstracts is not required. All session proposals and proposed paper titles must be submitted in English.

Scientific associations may also submit proposals for jointly organized sessions. In such cases, the proposal must indicate the session title and specify that the session is co-organized by the two associations. These initiatives aim to foster cross-fertilization across research topics and disciplines, while encouraging exchange and collaboration among scientific communities.

Proposals can be submitted directly from the login area of the website, by entering the name of the scientific manager, the session title, and the tentative number of presentations (up to five) by December 18, 2026.

Any invitation to particularly distinguished or prominent speakers must be agreed upon in advance with AISRe APS. Such invitations do not exempt invited speakers from paying the AISRe APS membership fee and the conference registration fee.

II. Submission of individual papers

Papers titles and abstracts (no more than 200 words), must be written in English and submitted together with keywords, directly through login area of the website starting December 21, 2026, and no later than January 29, 2027.

Each participant may submit and present a maximum of two papers in total: one paper as part of an individual paper session and one paper as part of an organized session. Participants may therefore submit one paper for each session type, but may not submit or present more than two papers overall. Acceptance will be communicated by February 26, 2027. Inclusion in the program is conditional upon payment of the conference registration fee, which must be completed by May 9, 2027.

AWARDS

AISRe promotes the diffusion of studies in Regional Science by awarding young scholars with:

• Post-Doctoral Scholarship “Roberto Camagni”
• Best young scholar paper
• PhD Dissertation Award

The call for candidatures and their instructions are available on AISRe APS website.  The deadline for the application is April 12, 2027.

REGISTRATION

Conference registration and membership

Registration and participation in the Conference is subject to AISRe APS membership, as individual, or young member, available in the login area. The membership in the Italian Association of Regional Science will be valid for the 2027/2028 social year. Registration and membership fees are available on the website. AISRe APS membership benefits include:

• the subscription to Scienze Regionali (Il Mulino) for the following calendar year;
• the volumes of the AISRe E-book (Donzelli Editore), published during the business year;
• the registration to the Regional Science Association International (RSAI), which includes an online subscription to the journal Papers in Regional Science and Regional Science Policy and Practice, for the following calendar year, and the Regional Science Association International (RSAI).
• Young scholars have also the opportunity to participate to the Summer/Winter Schools of AISRe.

COMMITTEES 

Scientific and Technical Committee

• Roberto Ganau, Università di Padova (Chair)
• Roberto Antonietti, Università di Padova
• Giulio Cainelli, Università di Padova
• Francesco Carbone, Università di Padova
• Marco Di Cataldo, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia
• Nadiia Matsiuk, FBK–IRVAPP
• Marco Modica, Gran Sasso Science Institute
• Giorgia Nesti, Università di Padova
• Francesco Pagliacci, Università di Padova
• Laura Polverari, Università di Padova
• Paolo Postiglione, Università degli Studi di Chieti Pescara

Executive Board AISRe APS

• Stefano Aragona, INBAR Sezione Lazio
• Giulio Cainelli, Università di Padova
• Annalisa Caloffi, Università di Firenze
• Andrea Caragliu, Politecnico di Milano
• Viviana Celli, Università di Roma la Sapienza
• Augusto Cerqua, Università di Roma La Sapienza
• Camilla Lenzi, Politecnico di Milano
• Marco Modica, Gran Sasso Science Institute
• Eleonora Pierucci, Università degli Studi Roma Tre
• Pietro Pizzuto, Università degli Studi di Palermo
• Paolo Postiglione, Università degli Studi “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara
• Domenico Scalera, Università del Sannio
• Lisa Sella, IRCrES-CNR – Istituto di Ricerca sulla crescita economica sostenibile
• Daniela Storti, Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria (CREA)
• Gaetano Vecchione, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II.

Contact

Diana Sarmiento, segreteria.tecnica@aisre.it