SS1. Territories in transition: regional dynamics in the green and digital transformation

Coordinator: María Jesús Ruiz Fuensanta

The simultaneous transitions towards more sustainable and digitalised economies – the so-called twin transition – are deeply mediated by territorial dynamics. Far from being homogeneous processes, these transitions take different forms depending on the socio-economic, institutional and cultural configurations of each region.

This special session proposes to reflect on how territories not only receive, but actively shape the processes of change associated with sustainability and digitalisation. Local capacities – such as knowledge, social cohesion, productive base or governance – condition the adoption of green technologies, the reconfiguration of production models and the social acceptance of new energy and circular solutions. At the same time, transition strategies can reinforce or undermine these territorial assets, generating differentiated trajectories of adaptation and resilience. We invite contributions that analyse in an integrated way how the environmental, technological and social dynamics of transition are intertwined in a territorial key. The aim is to improve our understanding of the factors that enable – or hinder – a just, inclusive and territorially equitable transition.

SS2. Input-output models in regional analysis: Theory and applications

Coordinator: Carmen Ramos

Input-output analysis is a methodology commonly applied in economic studies, both at a theoretical level, in the construction and development of new models, and at an applied level, enabling the resolution of practical problems.

The expansion of this methodology is undeniable, allowing for increasingly complex conceptualizations, including the construction of social accounting matrices and the development of computable general equilibrium models. Furthermore, the consideration of multiple input-output tables that relate not only sectors but also territories allows for the creation of multiregional models and, therefore, the study of interrelated spaces.

On the other hand, and from a more applied perspective, we can refer to the extension of the input-output methodology to the study of problems related to energy, the environment, or the impacts of natural disasters, among others.

This session aims to serve as a forum for discussion and reflection on the latest research (theoretical or applied) in input-output analysis, as well as to serve as the seed for new research in this field.

SS3. Withdrawal!

SS4. Territorial employment policies as a response to local and regional challenges in Europe

Coordinators: Juan Carlos Rodríguez Cohard (Universidad de Jaén) y José Antonio Camacho Ballesta (Universidad de Granada)

The challenges faced by territories are diverse and have different origins. Local administrations, together with other regional, national and European authorities, have, since the 1990s, been articulating economic policy responses to contribute to a better inclusion of territories in spatial competitiveness. This special session aims to provide a framework for discussion for researchers interested in territorial employment policies that seek to address the challenges of global competition, technological change and the social inclusion of workers coming from different places, with the objective of maintaining and increasing the economic and social well-being of local areas from a territorial perspective.

Multiple and varied approaches are welcome, among which we highlight those that seek to improve entrepreneurship, the training of workers and employers, local cooperation and collaboration with other tiers of government, efforts in the fight against depopulation of territories at risk of exclusion, the inclusion of disadvantaged groups and any other perspective that deals with employment policies from a territorial approach.

SS5. Reaction to Two Heterogeneous Shocks: The Economic Effects of the National Anti-Dumping Act (DANA) and the Adaptation of the Export Sector to Increased Tariffs. The Case of the Valencian Community

Coordinators: Paloma Taltavull (UA) and María Feo (UV)

Sponsor: Chair of Transformation of the Valencian Economic Model (UA)

This special session presents the research work developed within the Chair of Transformation of the Economic Model of the Valencian Community. These are two lines of research that evaluate, first, the socioeconomic impact of the National Anti-Dumping Act (DANA) and the resulting transformation in urban mobility patterns and housing markets. Second, the risk and potential economic challenge faced by the Valencian productive sector, which is highly open to the outside world, with the implementation of protectionist measures and increased tariffs.

SS6. Municipal resilience in the face of demographic decline: case studies and lessons shared

Coordinators:  Jaime de Pablo Valenciano – Universidad de Almería, Francisco Javier García Corral – Universidad de Almería y Juan Milán García – Universidad de Almería, José Ramos Pires Manso de la Universidad de Beira Interior (Portugal)

Faced with the challenges confronting the rural world—ageing populations, youth out-migration and the loss of services—many small and medium-sized municipalities are implementing survival and revitalisation strategies that seldom reach academic forums in a systematic way. These strategies are not limited to major breakthroughs; they also include pragmatic, replicable actions such as keeping schools and health centres open, operating demand-responsive transport, creating affordable-housing schemes, supporting local commerce, promoting the care economy, digitising public administration and forging inter-municipal alliances to share services.

This special session seeks to bring together case studies that document, evaluate and compare such initiatives, showing what was done, how it was implemented and—above all—why it works. We welcome contributions that:

• describe the municipality’s demographic and socioeconomic context;
• detail the policy instruments used and the stakeholders involved;
• present robust quantitative results or solid qualitative evidence;
• draw lessons that can be transferred to other territories at risk of depopulation.

Our objective is to build a repository of proven experiences that will serve as a practical guide for all actors committed to keeping life thriving in their villages.

SS7. Regional labour markets transformation in the context of green and digital transition

Coordinators:Nikos Kapitsinis, University of Copenhagen, nka@ign.ku.dk, and Esteban Fernandez Vazquez, University of Oviedo, evazquez@uniovi.es

Macro drivers of change, including technological change, globalisation, and green transition, as well as extraordinary phenomena, such as the 2008 global economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, have restructured contemporary labour. The green transition transforms European labour markets, though its effects vary significantly across regions. Carbon-intensive areas are particularly vulnerable, facing the most severe implications. This occurs alongside the digital transition that promotes more sustainable production methods, including automation and autonomy. Digitalization and greening the economy are interconnected and mutually reinforcing: on the one hand, digitalization contributes to more environmentally friendly production processes, while the greening of the economy necessitates the adoption of digital solutions and more advanced technologies to accompany structural changes. These uneven implications are not only economic, with recent literature on economic geography introducing concepts such the “geography of discontent” or the “revenge of places that don’t matter” that remark the idea that places that suffer declines on their economic dynamism and a loss on jobs offered, are more prone to express their discontent. Vulnerable groups—such as migrants, NEETs (young people not in education, employment, or training), and low-skilled workers—are especially at risk, as they are overrepresented in high-risk sectors and face greater challenges when seeking re-employment.

Existing views on the process of JCD have provided crucial insights for the transformation of labour markets in the current transitionary period, although focusing on the demand side, particularly related to skills needed. Moreover, the largest part of literatures on JCD and its effects focuses on the national level, particular sectors, predominantly approaching them from a quantitative perspective, thus relatively overlooking working conditions in the jobs created. Thus, there is room for improvement of our knowledge on regional labour markets transformation in the context of green and digital transition

In this session, we invite interventions that offer conceptual, methodological and empirical papers of regional labour markets transformation in the context of green and digital transition. Potential contributions may focus on, but are not limited to, the following topics:

-Conceptualisation of job creation and destruction and its geographically and socially uneven effects

-How transitions materialize as localised processes that occur in multi-actor, multi-scalar and multi-dimensional environments

-What sectors, jobs and skills are under the greatest risk of being affected by the green and digital transition and what this means for regional labour markets and regional development

-The way that aspects of the geographically-specific context shape the evolution of transitions in various places and territories

-What are the socially and geographically uneven effects of job creation and destruction in context of the green and digital transition

-What methods could be used in order to examine and analyse the regional labour markets transformation in the context of green and digital transition

-What policies should be recommended to address the geographically and socially uneven implications of regional labour markets transformation in the context of green and digital transition

SS8. Agglomeration, growth and regional inequality: Spatial dynamics and change

Coordinators: Jacob A. Jordaan, Utrecht University School of Economics and Rafael Garduño Rivera, Universidad de Navarra, School of Economics and Business Administration

This special session brings together new research that re-examines agglomeration not only as a driver of growth but also as a dynamic spatial process with far-reaching implications for structural transformation and regional inequality. While much of the existing literature highlights the beneficial effects of agglomeration (e.g., enhanced productivity, innovation, new firm creation), recent research suggests that agglomerations reinforce and strengthen structural inequalities within and between regions. In this context, the session aims to advance our understanding of how agglomerations form, persist, and evolve over time, and how they interact with broader processes of trade liberalisation, sectoral restructuring and technological change. A key focus of the special session is to explore the importance of long-term processes of spatial concentration and their potential consequences for inequality, territorial cohesion and regional policy making.

Topics of interest include:

– Long-run processes of agglomeration

– Structural change, agglomeration and regional polarisation

– Socio-economic impacts of agglomerations

– Effects of trade, policy regimes or economic shocks on spatial concentration – Comparative or historical analysis of agglomerations and their dynamics

SS9. Territorial Development and the Future of Cohesion: The Role of European Funds

Coordinator: Cristina García Nicolás

The harmonious development of European territories was already included as an objective in the Treaty of Rome and has constituted a fundamental basis for regional policy and subsequent cohesion policy in the design of multiannual programming periods since 1988. The inclusion of the territorial aspect of cohesion, following the Lisbon Treaty, reinforced the bottom-up approach to the implementation of structural and investment funds, despite a progressive renationalization of regional policy.

The objective of this session is to analyze from different perspectives the role—past, present, and future—of investments from Community funds in the economic development of territories and in strengthening cohesion. The first reports on cohesion already indicate a growing concern on the part of the Community institutions regarding the management and absorption of funds. Increasing emphasis is being placed on other factors that influence the greater or lesser impact of cohesion policy and that should be taken into account for the future, such as the quality of public administration, legal stability, the degree of decentralization of governance, and political ideology and interests, among others.

This session is an invitation to reflect on the future of cohesion policy, the challenges posed by the regions, and the changes needed to address the new programming period starting in 2027.

SS10. Public-community assemblages for the sustainability of life: reflections on the governance of territories

Coordinators: Amaia Altuzarra (Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU), Xabier Gainza (Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU), Elena Martínez Tola (Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU)

In recent years, public institutions have focused on community practices for the co-production of public policies and territorial governance. Inspired by the paradigm of the commons (Ostrom, 2015), regions and municipalities have sought new ways of organising space through alliances between the public and the community. These public-community assemblages can take different forms: public-community partnerships (PCPs) for the management of common goods (Castro-Coma and Forné-Aguirre, 2021); cooperatives involving public institutions and citizen associations to carry out municipal functions (Bauer and Markmann, 2016); and less institutionalised forms of urban common goods (Bianchi, 2022). Among the fundamental reasons for these alliances between the public and the community is the search for new forms of governance that favour participation, so that the benefits of ‘collective provision’ are not limited to the results (the service itself), but are extended to the process (by encouraging citizen participation).

Public-community assemblages are present in various areas that are essential for the sustainability of life, such as food sovereignty, energy and care. Municipalities and regions are bringing together agroecological producers, consumers and the administration for local food planning and food sovereignty (Morgan, 2014). Energy communities are another example of collaboration between the community and the public sector. The social organisation of care can also be enhanced by a territorial approach that facilitates partnerships between government and community practices (Kussy et al., 2023).

In this special session, we aim to reflect on the ways in which the public and community spheres interrelate in the governance of territories. Some questions that will guide the session are:

• What experiences of public-community governance around food, energy and care sovereignty can serve as inspiration for other territories? To what extent can the lessons learned be transferred to other places?
• What public policies should be produced by public institutions, and which ones can be articulated through existing community practices in the territories?
• What is the boundary between the public and the community?

SS11. Cluster-based Economic Development: The Current State of Play

Coordinators: Rafael Garduño, Neil Reid, Haoying Wang

Following its introduction in the early 1990s by Harvard economist Michael Porter (1990), the concept of industrial clusters quickly gained currency. It became popular among economic development practitioners in cities, regions, and countries around the world. Porter (2000, 15) defined clusters as “geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, and associated institutions (e.g., universities, standards agencies, trade associations) in a particular field that compete but also cooperate”. Thus, clusters are both place-based and industry-focused. In many respects, cluster-based economic development heralded a more holistic view of regional economic development in which the strategic imperative was to enhance both the performance and resilience capacity of an entire regional economy.

While widely adopted by communities across the world, cluster-based economic development strategies were not without their critics. Taylor (2010, 276) referred to the cluster concept as a “mesmerizing mantra” which, among other things, “fetishises proximity, treats entrepreneurship simplistically, promotes the chaotic concept of institutional thickness, and is limited by the chaotic concept of social capital”, while Martin and Sunley (2003, 5) suggested that “the cluster concept should carry a public health warning”.

Indeed, the effectiveness of cluster-based economic development has been widely debated among policymakers and researchers. While clusters can drive innovation, productivity, and regional competitiveness, critics argue that their benefits are often overstated or difficult to replicate in different economic contexts.

For this session, we invite researchers to share their insights and perspectives on the current status of cluster-based economic development as a strategy for facilitating local and regional economic growth.

SS12. Networks against Depopulation: Experiences, Policies, and Scales of Action

Coordinators: Consuelo Calafat Marzal and Margarita Brugarolas Molla-Bauza

Depopulation represents one of the main territorial challenges in Europe, with profound implications for equity, sustainability, and regional cohesion. Beyond approaches focused exclusively on demographic loss, this session examines the role of cooperation networks as key tools for activating sustainable territorial regeneration processes.

Promoted by the Valencian Anti-Depopulation Chair (AVANT Chair), this special session aims to provide an academic space for the analysis of territorial experiences that have developed collective solutions to depopulation through collaborative structures and innovative governance frameworks.

We invite submissions that address, among other issues:

• Alliances between municipalities or territories aimed at the shared management of services and development strategies.

• Social and community networks that activate relational capital and promote local revitalization initiatives.

• Collaborative governance projects between public administrations, civil society, and private actors.

• Institutional innovations adapted to rural or declining demographic contexts.

• Evaluation and transfer of public policies, with special attention to their applicability in low-density territories.

• Initiatives promoted by universities, knowledge centers, or local actors with transformative potential.

The session seeks to bring together research that transcends conventional diagnostics and contributes to outlining sustainable, participatory, and scalable territorial regeneration models.

SS13. New methods for territorial monitoring and policy evaluation

Coordinator: Andrea Conte, Joint Research Center

The effective monitoring and evaluation of territorial policies is crucial for ensuring their intended goals and making a positive impact on European territories. This conference session will explore the latest innovations and advancements in territorial monitoring and policy evaluation, with a focus on new methods and approaches that can help policymakers and practitioners to better understand the analytical and methodological complexities of territorial development and make more informed decisions.