Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis
Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis is a research topic within Economics and Econometrics. Science Explorer counts 16k research works in it since 1950. 48.7% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the spatial economics and agglomeration theory, focusing on topics such as agglomeration economies, urbanization, economic geography, regional development, transportation, city size distribution, human capital externalities, polycentric urban regions, and industrial clusters.
- Agglomeration Economies
- Urbanization
- Economic Geography
- Spatial Structure
- Regional Development
- Transportation
- City Size Distribution
- Human Capital Externalities
- Polycentric Urban Regions
- Industrial Clusters
- Research works
- 16k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 8k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 48.7% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +11% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis research?
By volume, China and the United States publish the most (944 and 364 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 China 944 works
- 2 United States 364 works
- 3 Italy 154 works
- 4 United Kingdom 113 works
- 5 Russia 88 works
- 6 Japan 81 works
- 7 Germany 79 works
- 8 Spain 63 works
- 9 France 59 works
- 10 Brazil 46 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Peking University publishes the most Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis research, followed by Politecnico di Milano and East China Normal University.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Peking UniversityChina 24 works
- 2 Politecnico di MilanoItaly 18 works
- 3 East China Normal UniversityChina 16 works
- 4 Zhejiang UniversityChina 14 works
- 5 Renmin University of ChinaChina 13 works
- 6 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 13 works
- 7 Southeast UniversityChina 11 works
- 8 Wuhan UniversityChina 11 works
- 9 Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources ResearchChina 11 works
- 10 Shanghai University of Finance and EconomicsChina 11 works
Who are the leading researchers in Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis include M. Hashem Pesaran, Paúl Krugman and David B. Audretsch.
- 1 M. Hashem Pesaran United States 9.1k citations
- 2 Paúl Krugman United States 4.4k citations
- 3 David B. Audretsch United States 3.7k citations
- 4 David Autor United States 3k citations
- 5 Edward L. Glaeser United States 3k citations
- 6 Luc Anselin United States 2.7k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis research done?
The largest centres of Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Nanjing (China) and Wuhan (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Milan.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- MilanIT · 28.9 works3.8×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis?
Among universities, judged by research, Politecnico di Milano, East China Normal University and Renmin University of China score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Politecnico di MilanoItaly | 77.7 | 73.3% | 10.0× | 18 | -6.4% |
| 2 | East China Normal UniversityChina | 71.8 | 71.8% | 13.1× | 16 | -18.9% |
| 3 | Renmin University of ChinaChina | 68.1 | 69.3% | 15.6× | 13 | +18.3% |
| 4 | Peking UniversityChina | 62.3 | 60.3% | 6.1× | 24 | +25.8% |
| 5 | Capital University of Economics and BusinessChina | 56.2 | 58.1% | 51.6× | 10 | +69.5% |
| 6 | London School of Economics and Political ScienceUnited Kingdom | 56.0 | 57.3% | 16.1× | 10 | -11.8% |
| 7 | Shanghai University of Finance and EconomicsChina | 54.6 | 55.0% | 41.9× | 11 | +13.9% |
| 8 | Wuhan UniversityChina | 50.5 | 72.7% | 3.7× | 12 | +55.2% |
| 9 | Southwestern University of Finance and EconomicsChina | 48.6 | 53.7% | 22.0× | 8 | +22.2% |
| 10 | Nanjing UniversityChina | 46.8 | 69.8% | 4.6× | 9 | +46.3% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 11% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.