Abstract deadline: 31 December 2025
Manuscript deadline: 31 March 2026
Following an international workshop on ‘Advances in Spatial and Network Modelling for Policy Making’, held in May 2025 at Sapienza University of Rome, we are inviting submissions of contributions presented at the workshop as well as other relevant papers that were not part of the event.
The topic of the special issue will be at the intersection of spatial analysis, policy evaluation, and structural transformation. Particular attention is devoted to novel, emerging applications and models that stimulate both methodological and practical debate around spatial and network-based approaches to policy evaluation.
In particular, we welcome contributions that push the methodological frontier by addressing gaps in current spatial or network analytical frameworks, introducing innovative data sources, or developing new techniques and computational tools that enhance our understanding of spatial and network dimensions in economic change and policy.
The special issue selects research papers that provide:
- innovative contributions to theory, methods and models related to spatial and network topics, with a focus on approaches that fill existing methodological gaps or extend current analytical frontiers;
- studies focusing on underrepresented geographical areas or contexts where spatial and network data are scarce or emerging;
- spatial economic analytical contributions to some poorly explored topics, such as the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other structural drivers of transformation, particularly when these employ novel data or modelling frameworks.
The purpose of the special issue is to gather contributions from scholars investigating the spatial and network dimension of economic change and policy, and their role in economic processes. The issue will include interdisciplinary research presented at the workshop from various fields, such as economic geography, network economics, and regional science.
We particularly welcome empirical contributions that employ innovative data sources (e.g., big data, georeferenced microdata, or networked administrative datasets) or advanced analytical techniques (e.g., spatial machine learning, agent-based models, dynamic network analysis). Submissions may address phenomena at all spatial scale (international, macro-regional, sub-national, or local) and should clearly demonstrate how their methodological approach advances the field and offers new insights for policy evaluation.
Envisioned topics
The relevant themes to be addressed in the special issue include, but are not limited to:
- the impact of international shocks on EU Policy;
- spatial patterns of the green transition
- firm-level strategies under uncertainty;
- labor market effects of the AI adoption;
- the impact of international shocks on EU Policy.
Submission Instructions
An extended abstract should be submitted to carolina.serpieri@uniroma1.it and valerio.leonesciabolazza@uniroma1.it by the 31st of December 2025. Please use ‘Special issue: Advances in Spatial and Network Modelling for Policy Making’ as the subject of the email.
- The abstract should clearly outline the key questions explored, the theoretical and methodological frameworks applied, and the main findings or expected outcomes.
- The abstract must include the title, author/s (with contacts and affiliations), paper aims (about 100–200 words), paper methodology (about 200–300 words), and paper results (about 100–200 words).
Notification for abstract acceptance will be provided after a careful examination of all the abstracts by the special issue editors.
If successful, authors will be invited to submit the full paper through the journal’s online submission system no later than the 31st of March 2026.
Note that the acceptance of abstracts does not guarantee the paper’s final publication. All papers will be subject to a rigorous double-anonymous refereeing process.
Read the Instructions for Authors on Spatial Economic Analysis
Submit an article to Spatial Economic Analysis
Special issue editors
- Carolina Serpieri, Sapienza University of Rome
- Paolo Di Caro, Italian Ministry of Economics and Finance
- Cristiana Fiorelli, Sapienza University of Rome
- Valerio Leone Sciabolazza, Sapienza University of Rome
- Nicola Pontarollo, University of Brescia