Spring/Summer 2001

Western Regional Science Association Newsletter

Preparations are under way for the Western Regional Science Association’s 41st Annual Meeting, to be held February 17 – 20, 2002 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey, California.  The conference will begin with registration and an Opening Session and Reception on Sunday, February 17, and will be followed by three full days of sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Get working now on a paper for submittal by our traditional October 15 deadline.  Remember, abstracts are not accepted.  Papers on any regional science topic are welcome.  Possible papers subjects include resource utilization, impact analysis, regional and urban planning, local public finance, migration and demographic analysis, and transportation.  As per longstanding WRSA custom, all offers will be screened by the Program Committee prior to invitations being issued for presentation.  Abstracts are not accepted, but at the time of the October 15 submittal deadline papers may be in draft form.  Those wishing to organize a special session are encouraged to contact Lay Gibson, Program Chair for the 2002 Meeting, as soon as possible.

This year we will continue our policy of encouraging the electronic submission of papers.  We hope to facilitate distribution of papers to discussants and chairs by having most papers centrally available at the Association office in electronic form.  Manuscripts in Word, Word Perfect, or PDF format may be e-mailed as attachments to WRSA Assistant, Rachel Franklin.  Although electronic submission is the preferred option, we will continue to accept paper copies this year.  These may be mailed or expressed, and should included three copies of the paper.  For multiple-authored papers, please be sure to indicate which author(s) plan to attend the meeting.  See the “Call for Papers” accompanying this Newsletter or visit the Association’s website for full details.

Watch the WRSA website, reachable at http://geog.arizona.edu/wrsa for full conference information as it is posted in the months ahead.  The preregistration and hotel reservation forms are already posted, as is the link to the Hyatt Regency Monterey.
It’s not too soon to begin planning a winter trip to Monterey, California, where the locale is picturesque, the participants promise to be interesting, and the paper presentations will certainly be stimulating.

The 17th Pacific Conference of the RSAI, hosted by the Western Regional Science Association, was held in sunny Portland, Oregon, June 30 – July 4.  The meeting was deemed by many to be a terrific success, with three days of concurrent sessions focused on a timely set of themes and several planned social activities.  The site of the conference, the Embassy Suites Hotel in Downtown Portland, was exquisite.

The full program featured several special sessions, including three paper sessions organized in honor of Hirotada Kohno and a special panel of Oregon planners and politicians on Growth Management chaired by Nohad Toulon, Dean of Urban and Public Affairs at Portland State University.

The Presidential Address was given by Sam Ock Park.  Dr. Park gave a well-received talk on “Economic Spaces in the Pacific Rim: A Paradigm Shift and New Dynamics.”  A panel session on the future of the RSAI was also organized by WRSA’s own Tony Bailly and Lay Gibson.  Other sessions were organized by Bill Beyers, Marlon Boarnet, John Carruthers, Adrian Esparza, and Yasuhide Okuyama.

The Organizing Committee was chaired by David Plane, who was ably assisted by Rachel Franklin.  Brian Holly helped out with aspects of the local arrangements.  In total, 35 sessions were offered, on the full range of regional science topics, over four days.  The final tally of conference participants was approximately 160, with presenters coming from as far away as Finland, Malaysia, Argentina, and Mozambique.

The social program began with a Welcoming Reception on Sunday evening, and continuing with two luncheons on Monday and Wednesday.  The highlight, however, was the field excursion on Tuesday afternoon, which included a tour of the Bonneville Dam and fish ladders on the Columbia River Gorge, as well as dinner at the lovely Skamania Lodge, on the Washington side of the river.

The 18th Conference of the PRSCO is scheduled for July, 2003 in Acapulco, Mexico.  The location of the meeting, along with the preliminary schedule of events, suggest that the next PRSCO Meeting will strive to match the success of the Portland conference.

WRSA’s celebration of its 40th year since its founding in 1961 was distinguished by a lively and gracious Annual Meeting held at the Palm Springs Riviera Resort and Racquet Club, February 25–28.

The conference got underway with a special plenary session cochaired by long-time WRSA Executive Secretary, Fellow, and 39th President Lay James Gibson, and WRSA Fellow and 12th President Tony Pascal on the theme: “In Celebration of the First Forty Years of the Western Regional Science Association.”  A distinguished panel of Past WRSA Presidents and Fellows contributed their thoughts about the past and future of the Association.  Participants included Michael Greenwood, 31st President, Nina Gruen (the 25th), Jack Knetsch (the 26th), Ted Lane (the 33rd), Charlie Leven (the 14th) and WRSA Fellow, Bernie Malamud (the 28th), Michael Mischaikow, WRSA Fellow and long-time editor of The Annals of Regional Science, Frank Mittelbach (the 16th), Bob Monahan, WRSA Fellow and long-time Executive Secretary, Paul Polzin (the 30th), Harry Richardson (29th), and Gunter Schramm (27th).  Following the Panel, the Opening Reception featured a toast to the next 40 years of the Association, drunk from special WRSA 40th Anniversary commemorative wine glasses provided for the occasion.

Registrants this year totaled 209, including 22 students.  Assembling once again from far and wide, attendees were unexpectedly spared throughout most of the conference from experiencing the brutal rays of the Palm Springs winter desert sun.  Gathered in the lovely Riviera Conference Center, they participated in 33 regular invited paper sessions, 2 organized panels, and a slate of 12 sessions organized as a special seminar of the Applied Econometrics Association.  Tuesday’s Annual Luncheon Banquet featured the presentations of the Tiebout and Springer-Verlag Prizes (see articles elsewhere in this Newsletter), and Brenda Moscove’s cinematic Presidential Address on “The New Century: Lessons Learned from Singapore’s Shopping Sector During the 1990s.”  The Address was followed by an interesting set of discussion remarks presented by WRSA Board Member Juanita Liu.

All in all the 40th Annual Meeting was a truly memorable one, highlighting the Association’s historical roots and emphasizing the vitality of the enterprise for the future.

Brian Mikelbank, Assistant Professor at Cleveland State University, was awarded the 15th Annual Tiebout Prize in at ceremony at the Annual Luncheon Banquet at the 40th WRSA Annual Meeting.  Mikelbank’s winning paper was titled “Spatial Analysis of the Relationship between Housing Values and Investments in Transportation Infrastructure.”  Past WRSA President, Lay James Gibson, presented the winner’s certificate and a check for the $1000 prize money.

Also recognized at the opening session were two finalists, Christian Redfearn of the University of Southern California and Scott Susin of the U.S. Census Bureau.  Both finalists received a certificate, as well as $250 in travel support to attend the conference.  The Reading Committee also awarded two Honorable Mentions to Peter Kitchen of the University of Ottawa and Austin Troy of the University of California, Berkeley.

Mary C. Riddell of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas was awarded the 6th Annual Springer-Verlag Prize at the Annual Meeting in Palm Springs for her paper, “A Dynamic Approach to Estimating Hedonic Prices for Environmental Goods: An Application to Open Space Purchase.”

Annals coeditor, Roger Stough, presented her with a certificate for $500 worth of Springer-Verlag books at Tuesday’s Banquet Luncheon.

Rachel Franklin, doctoral student in the Department of Geography and Regional Development at the University of Arizona, has been selected the winner of the competition for the second annual Benjamin H. Stevens Graduate Fellowship in Regional Science.  The Fellowship will provide a $16,800 one-year stipend to support Franklin in her research on the causes of variation in regional fertility rates in Italy.  The dissertation is titled:  “Temporal and Spatial Variations in Italian Regional Fertility:  An Assessment and Explanation.”  Professors Brigitte Waldorf and David A. Plane are the dissertation supervisors.

The Fellowship is awarded in memory of Dr. Benjamin H. Stevens, an intellectual leader whose selfless devotion to graduate students as teacher, advisor, mentor, and friend had a profound impact on the field of regional science.
Faculty at all North American Ph.D. programs are asked to encourage their brightest students to apply for the third annual Stevens Fellowship, which will support the winning student’s dissertation research for the 2002-2003 year.  The application deadline is February 15, 2002.  Full submission guidelines may be found on the Ben Stevens memorial website  http://web.bryant.edu/~pnorton/resources/memorial.html.

The 24th Australian and New Zealand Meeting of the Regional Science Association International was held in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia during the period 3 – 6 December, 2000.  The ANZ meetings are somewhat distinctive in the world of regional science inasmuch as the draw both academics and practitioners in large numbers: roughly two-thirds of those attending represent the consulting and governmental sectors.  Further, this dual focus carries over into the area of publications.  The Association publishes two journals, one aimed at practitioners and one at academics.

There were 60 papers presented at the meeting, including nine in plenary-type sessions.  One hundred delegates registered for the conference, including five overseas visitors.  The overseas group included two from the United States – Kingsley Haynes and Lay Gibson.  These two, plus Bob Stimson, represented the Western Regional Science Association.

The local organizing committee was chaired by University of Tasmania professor and ANZ Section President, John Madden.  The conference was managed by ANZRSAI Executive Secretary, Linda Pink, and by the members of the local organizing committee.  The superb organization and the spectacular setting made this meeting a real bright spot in the RSAI conference year.

For more information on the ANZRSAI, its conferences, and its publications contact Linda Pink, Executive Secretary, anzrsai@uq.net.au.

In what is quickly becoming a WRSA tradition, longtime WRSA members, Brian Holly and Antoine Bailly, organized a wine tasting event during the Palm Springs Annual Meeting.  The 2001 WRSA wine tasting was devoted to Pinots.  This time around, the contest was geographic, since the participants had to name the origin of the Pinots, choosing from five places: Napa, Sonoma, Oregon, Monterey, and Australia.

Randy Jackson, this year’s winner, named 3 out of 5 wines correctly.  He was followed by Art Getis and Jacques Poot.  Also placing in the competition were Rachel Franklin, a past winner, Jack Osman, John Quigley, Meagan Cahill, and Kingsley Haynes.

At the Annual Meeting of the WRSA Board in Palm Springs on February 26, Koichi Mera of the University of Southern California was selected as the new Vice President.  Dr. Mera will, following WRSA custom, succeed to become President-Elect for the 2002–2003 year and President in the subsequent year.  For 2001–2002 Roger Stough succeeds to become our current President-Elect and Brenda Moscove the reigning President.  John Quigley moves into the position of Immediate Past President, replacing Arthur Getis who continues his service on the Tiebout Reading Committee in the Chair’s role for the 16th competition.

The Board added two new members, long-time WRSA participants Peter Gordon from the University of Southern California, and Timothy Hogan from Arizona State University.  Two outgoing Board members, Bill Coffey and Aura Reggiani, were thanked in absentia for their many fine contributions over the years to the Association.

In other Board business it was agreed that beginning with calendar year 2002, non-U.S. members will begin receiving electronic rather than paper copies of the Annals.  U.S. members will continue to be sent paper copies via special permit mailing rates.  For electronic subscribers, Springer-Verlag will supply detailed directions on how to access their state-of-the-art website from which articles may be easily accessed, read and printed.  The cost savings on mailing expenses coupled with a modest boost in dues and registration fees approved by the Board will allow the Association to continue to be headquartered at the University of Arizona despite the withdrawal of customary financial support for its affairs by the current Head of the Department of Geography & Regional Development.  Previous secretarial time contributed by the Department has been replaced by a paid Graduate Student Assistant, which must be funded in part through Association funds.  This new position has been very ably filled for the past two years by Rachel Franklin, doctoral candidate, whom many of you have gotten to know at the registration desk and in the academic sessions and social events of recent conferences.

41st Congress of the European Regional Science Association, August 29 – September 1, 2001,
Zagreb, Croatia

The 41st Congress of the European Regional Science Association will be held at the end of August in Zagreb Croatia.  The theme of the meeting is “European Regional Development Issues in the New Millennium and Their impact on Economic Policy.”

Questions regarding the conference should be directed to ersa41@hgk.hr.

Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, November 8 – 11, 2001, Cleveland, Ohio

The Annual Meeting of the ACSP will be held November 8 – 11, 2001 at the Sheraton Hotel in Cleveland Ohio.  The theme of the conference is “Building Bridges to Sustainable Neighborhoods, Cities and Regions.”

Further information on the meeting can be found at the ACSP’s website, http://www.uwm.edu/Org/acsp/events/call for papers 2001.htm.

48th Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International, November 15 – 17, 2001, Charleston, South Carolina

The 48th Annual North American Meetings of the RSAI will be held at the Westin Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, November 15 – 17, 2001.  The Meeting will be hosted by the Southern Regional Science Association.

The deadline for submitting abstracts is September 1, 2001.  Participants are encouraged to organize a special session in their field of interest.  An online abstract submission form, as well as further details on the upcoming meeting, are now available by following the links on the NARSC website, http://www.narsc.org.  Abstracts may also be submitted via e-mail to the 2001 Program Chair, Frank Hefner.  Dr. Hefner can be contacted via e-mail at hefnerf@cofc.edu or by telephone at 843-953-8111.

41st Annual Meeting of the Western Regional Science Association, February 17 – 20, 2002, Monterey, California

The 41st Annual Meeting of the WRSA will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey, California, February 17 – 20, 2002.

For further details, see lead article, this Newsletter.

14th International Conference on Input-Output Techniques, October 10 – 15, 2002, Montreal, Canada

The 14th International Conference on Input-Output Techniques will be held in Montreal, Canada, October 10 – 15, 2002.  The goal of the conference is to promote and stimulate the exchange of ideas in the field of input-output analysis as defined in its broadest sense.  Authors are invited to submit papers on any aspect of input-output analysis, including theoretical background, policy issues, analytical frameworks, technical focus, units and levels of analysis, and objects of analysis.  Papers related to the general theme, “Ecological and Economic Sustainability in the New Economy,” are of particular interest to the organizing committee.

The deadline for paper submissions or parallel sessions is November 1, 2001.  Acceptance of papers will be confirmed by February, 2002.  The Organizing Committee has limited funds for five travel grants to be given to young scholars coming from non-OECD countries.  For more information on the travel grants or on submitting an abstract, contact Erik Dietzenbacher at e.dietzenbacher@eco.rug.nl or Christian de Bresson at christian.debresson@uqam.ca.  More information on the conference is also available at the International Input-Output Association’s website, http://www.iioa.at.