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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Economics

Series

2011

Characteristics of discipline

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Regional Science Reconsidered, Peter V. Schaeffer, Randall Jackson, James O. Bukenya Jan 2011

Regional Science Reconsidered, Peter V. Schaeffer, Randall Jackson, James O. Bukenya

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

Members of a discipline share common research questions, values they use to address normative issues, and a set of research methods. Collectively, the features of a discipline that are common to all of its members constitute its core. Disciplines – and their specializations – can also be defined by their boundaries. However, in the case of regional science, the boundaries are fuzzy. Because regional science has been influenced by economics, geography, urban and regional planning, sociology, political science, public administration, and transportation engineering, it overlaps to a significant degree with these “parent disciplines” so that clear cut boundaries do not …


Regional Science Reconsidered, Peter V. Schaeffer, Randall Jackson, James O. Bukenya Jan 2011

Regional Science Reconsidered, Peter V. Schaeffer, Randall Jackson, James O. Bukenya

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Because disciplines and their cores and boundaries are subject to change, a periodic introspective assessment can be useful in evaluating the relevance of a changing discipline to the equally dynamic and pressing needs of society. Similar examinations of other disciplines, notably economics, have been conducted in part as a means of minimizing the risks of declining credibility, policy relevance, and societal benefit. With the Southern Regional Science Association celebrating recently its 50th meeting, and as regional science itself approaches its 60th year, this paper provides a reexamination of the core of regional science. We consider the theoretical and methodological underpinnings …