61st ERSA Congress

Keynote Lectures

Regional Science Policy and Practice/REGION Keynote Lecture
Monday, 22 August 11.15 - 12.45 │Semi-Plenary Session│ Session Online

Maria Abreu, University of Cambridge, UK

A capability approach perspective on regional development

Short bio: Maria Abreu is Professor of Economic Geography at the Department of Land Economy, and Fellow of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. Her research covers urban economics, economic development, labour markets and innovation policy. Prior to coming to Cambridge she worked for the Poverty Team at the World Bank office in Jakarta, Indonesia, on policy initiatives to promote child nutrition and educational transitions. She was also a policy research fellow at the Cambridge-MIT Institute, working on several projects to promote knowledge diffusion and innovation. more

Keynote Lecture
Wednesday, 24 August 11.15 - 12.45 CET│Semi-Plenary Session│Onsite Pécs

Simona Iammarino, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK

Technology, regional inequality and corporate power

Short bio: Simona Iammarino is Professor of Economic Geography in the Department of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She served as Head of Department (2014–2017), and was an academic member of the LSE Council (2016-2020). Simona’s main research interests lie in the following areas: Multinational corporations, location and innovation strategies, and local impacts; Geography of innovation and technological change; Regional and local economic development and policy. more

Keynote Lecture

Thursday, 25 August 9.15 - 10.45 CET│Semi-Plenary Session│Onsite in Pécs

Olav Sorenson, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA

The spatial ecology of entrepreneurship

Short bio: Olav Sorenson is currently the Joseph Jacobs Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies, Professor of Strategy, and Faculty Research Director of the Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. He teaches electives on venture capital strategy and on entrepreneurial venture initiation. His primary stream of research pertains to economic geography, focusing on how entrepreneurship influences the growth and competitiveness of regions within countries and on why some regions appear more supportive to entrepreneurs than others. more

Keynote Lecture
Wednesday, 24 August 9.15 - 10.45 CET│Opening Session│Onsite in Pécs

Michael Storper,

LSE, UK & University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA

Spatial Inequalities: Historical, Comparative and Methodological Perspective (And the challenge to European research)

Short bio: Michael Storper is Professor of Regional and International Development at UCLA and Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics. He is the author of over 100 academic papers and 13 books. He is member of the British Academy and the Academy of Social Sciences. In 2014 he was named by Thomson Reuters as one of the "World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds" of the 21st century for his writings being among the top 1% most cited in the field of social sciences. He is a fellow of the British Academy and in 2016 received the Founder's Medal from the Royal Geographical Society. more

Keynote Lecture
Thursday, 25 August 14.00 - 15.30 CET│Semi-Plenary Session│Onsite in Pécs

Michaela Trippl,

University of Vienna, Austria

Smart specialization, place-based innovation and sustainability transitions

Short bio: Michaela Trippl is Full Professor of Economic Geography at the University of Vienna (Austria). She has co-authored several books and contributed with a large number of book chapters within her fields of expertise. She has also published articles in various scientific journals, such as Economic Geography, Regional Studies, Environment and Planning A, Progress in Human Geography, Cambridge Journals of Regions, Economy and Society, and Research Policy. more

Papers in Regional Science Keynote Lecture
Friday, 26 August 11.15 - 12.45 CET│Semi-Plenary Session│Onsite in Pécs

Frank van Oort,

Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Identifying effects of changing governance status on left behind cities

Short bio: Frank van Oort is Professor of Urban and Regional Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He is specialized in agglomeration economies, urban economics, economic geography, planning and housing, economic networks, urban geography, spatial planning, knowledge economy, European regional development, and urban development in China. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Economic & Social Geography (TESG), editor at the Cambridge Journal of Economy, Regions & Society. Until 2010 he was a Board member of the Regional Science Association Netherlands. He combines fundamental research with applied and policy-oriented research. For example, besides NWO and EU funded research, he also researches ministries, cities and regions. more

Keynote Lecture by the ERSA Prize Winner 2022
Friday, 26 August 16.00 - 17.30 CET│Closing Session│Onsite in Pécs

Diego Puga, CEMFI, Madrid, Spain

The benefits and costs of big cities

Short bio: Diego Puga is Professor of Economics at CEMFI in Madrid, Spain. His research interests include urban economics, economic geography, international trade, institutions. After his Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics in 1997, he held academic positions in Europe and beyond, including at the London School of Economics, the University of Toronto, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and imdea Social Sciences. He has been employed at CEMFI since 2012, . Furthermore, Diego Puga is a member of Spain's Council of Economic Advisers and of the Multidisciplinary Workgroup providing advice and support to the Government of Spain on scientific matters related to covid-19 and its consequences. His publications include articles in American Economic Review, Econometrica, Quarterly Journal of Economics, and Review of Economic Studies, and have been cited over 5,000 times in articles included in Web of Science. more

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