Earlier in 2025, the UK government announced a commitment to reduce spending on disability benefits by restructuring entitlements and eligibility to various health-related benefits. It claims through its Pathways to Work, papers that it seeks to reduce economic inactivity across the UK ‘…[so] that everyone who can realise the benefits of work is expected and […]
In the UK, the Covid-19 pandemic was marked by strong spatial differences in the strictness and duration of government-mandated lockdowns. The average number of weeks spent in strict lockdown was 50% higher in urban local authorities than in rural ones. The marked increase in working from home that ensued, largely facilitated by the use of […]
We are glad to announce the Winter School Geography of Innovation for doctoral students and junior researchers, jointly organized by the University of Pavia and Icrios-Bocconi University. It will be held at the University of Pavia on February 2-6 For information and registration please visit: https://tinyurl.com/paviawinterschool2026 Key features: 5 days intensive training programme Participants present their research & discuss their publication strategies 10 speakers Two […]
Devolution has been at the core of the UK government’s initiatives to reduce regional inequality across the country. The Conservatives’ ‘Levelling up’ agenda was built around it, and Labour’s plan to ‘Power Up Britain’ also relies on the empowerment of local and sub-regional authorities and communities, based upon an analysis that areas have been ‘held […]
The UK government can meet some of its biggest challenges by combining mayoral devolution with its mission-led approach. Empowering local leaders to deliver on national missions will mean giving them greater control and bigger budgets. In the UK, Keir Starmer’s Labour government has had a rocky first year in office. With opinion polls tumbling and […]
Place leadership has come to be seen as the ‘missing factor of the regional development puzzle’ (Sotarauta et al, 2017), but how such leadership operates in environments of conflict and contestation is still poorly understood. Using Northern Ireland as an illustrative case, recent research has sought to better understand how place leadership dynamics manifest when […]
The FinGeo Seminar aims at debating on advances in financial geography within the following broad nexuses: (1) Geography, Finance, Development & Social Businesses (2) Geography, Finance & Environmental and Social Sustainability (3) Geography, Finance & Technology advances We will discuss, among others, about FinTech, AI-finance nexus, sustainable finance, biofianance, climate finance, finance for social business, […]
Call for Applications 4th FinGeo School University of Bologna, Italy 31 Jan – 1 Feb 2026 The 4th FinGeo School will be held at University of Bologna (Italy) on the 31st January – 1st February 2026. A great weekend not to be missed! 👉 This edition will focus on inspiring in-field research methodologies in Financial […]
The 40th Anniversary of the miners’ strike has encouraged considerable academic and media attention on the nature and lessons of the strike (Hendy,2024), but less on the long-term economic and social consequences of Thatcher’s and subsequent Governments’ policies on the former Coalfields. Our report, on the impact of austerity on inequality and deprivation in the […]
Athens serves as a vital site of democratic heritage and urban evolution. Over the decades, its society and built environment have undergone a gradual but significant transformation. Like many historic cities, Athens faces complex challenges across social, economic, environmental, cultural, tourism, and security dimensions. This blog explores initiatives focused on the preservation and development of […]
The UK has historically failed to learn important lessons from European countries on spatial rebalancing. It has recently acknowledged the need for effective local institutions and a long-term national strategy, but its asymmetric approach is unlikely to reduce geographic inequality. The failure of levelling up When the previous UK government launched its levelling up agenda […]
Marcus is the Head of Partnerships and Engagement at the Regional Studies Association, where he leads on identifying, securing, and managing strategic collaborations with networks, organisations, and consortia. He oversees joint projects and sponsorships, using member and market insights to enhance the RSA’s membership offer. Marcus also supports the development of territorial networks, delivers marketing […]
Victoria supports the RSA’s financial and operational functions by processing invoices, grants, and expense claims, assisting with purchase ledger tasks, bank and credit card reconciliations, audit preparation, VAT compliance, and Charity Commission filings. She also manages health and safety compliance, including staff training, DSE assessments, insurance, and data protection, while handling HR administration such as […]
Child poverty is regarded as a multidimensional, yet heavily economically based phenomenon. Previous studies on the UK or OECD countries underline the role of low income, job insecurity and worklessness, especially in lone-parent and minority households (Bradshaw, 2002; Thevenon et al., 2018). Additionally, in-work poverty is rising, and other factors, like housing, parental health and […]
The Geography of Innovation Conference provides a forum for discussion to scholars interested in scientific, policy and strategic issues concerning the spatial dimension of innovation activities. In line with the seven previous editions of the conference, held in Saint Etienne (France) in 2012, Utrecht (Netherlands) in 2014, Toulouse (France) in 2016, in Barcelona (Spain) in […]
The first signs of a slowdown in residential address changing were identified towards the end of the last century, starting in the USA, as is so often the case with social trends and then being found to be particularly marked across the rest of the New World. But other countries, including the UK, have not […]
The “advantage of backwardness”—the notion that low-income countries can grow faster by borrowing and adapting existing technology—has long been central to the theory of economic convergence. However, transition countries seeking European Union (EU) membership have been lagging behind. Despite some progress, the gap between them and the EU remains substantial. Why have these countries struggled […]
The following piece is a brief extract from a more comprehensive study on the impact of two trends in the context of Cohesion Policy: hyper-Lisbonisation and re-nationalisation. The article investigates how these trends are intertwined with the reiterative resort to employing Cohesion Policies funds outside of their original objectives and legal provisions, particularly to counterbalance […]
Leaving No One Behind? Navigating Regional Socio-Economic and Employment Impacts in the Context of Just Transition Transitioning to a low-carbon economy is crucial for sustainability and climate resilience, but it requires significant transformation, particularly in vulnerable regions with economic and social disadvantages. The purpose of this project is to analyse the socio-economic impacts of transitioning […]
On the 9th April, 2025, the Association reached its sixtieth anniversary. To celebrate this milestone, a new logo was released and several events were organised across the year.
Ignazio is Professor of Regional Economic Development at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University. He is also Head of the Accounting and Financial Management Department (AFM), and Research Fellow at the EU*Asia Institute, ESSCA School of Management, Angers (France). Ignazio’s work addresses multiple themes and topics in the economics and environment fields, with particular emphasis on […]
Ignazio is Professor of Regional Economic Development at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University. He is also Head of the Accounting and Financial Management Department (AFM), and Research Fellow at the EU*Asia Institute, ESSCA School of Management, Angers (France). Ignazio’s work addresses multiple themes and topics in the economics and environment fields, with particular emphasis on […]
Ignazio is Professor of Regional Economic Development at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University. He is also Head of the Accounting and Financial Management Department (AFM), and Research Fellow at the EU*Asia Institute, ESSCA School of Management, Angers (France). Ignazio’s work addresses multiple themes and topics in the economics and environment fields, with particular emphasis on […]