Hi there
Apologies for cross-posting and for announcement length, but I am sure UK-based list members will be very interested in the following conference announcement.
Best regards
Paul.
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Postal Developing Areas Research Network (DARN)
address: Devonshire Building, Newcastle University
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WINTER CONFERENCE 2008
WORKING REGIONS
Friday 28 November 2008
London Voluntary Sector Resource Centre
356 Holloway Road London N7 6PA
In recent years, employment issues have been neglected in regional studies debates as the focus has turned to issues of productivity, growth and performance. In part this reflects relatively low rates of unemployment in many regions in the developed world, but it is also indicative of policymakers' concern with economic growth at the expense of broader and alternative visions of regional development. As the global economy enters a period of prolonged uncertainty, it is timely to ask questions about current trajectories of regional development and their implications for creating meaningful work and livelihoods.
Despite recent processes of economic growth at a global level, continuing evidence of uneven development between regions and disparities in both the quality and quantity of jobs being created suggests the need to put work and employment issues back to the forefront of debate. Additionally, and despite apparently low unemployment rates, low levels of labour market participation in many regions have posed important dilemmas for policymakers, leading to a raft of new ‘workfarist’ solutions, prompting important questions about effectiveness and social impact.
The imbalance in employment opportunities between regions has also resulted in an increase in labour migration over the past decade. Inter-continental, international and inter-regional processes of migration are creating increasingly complex local labour markets and posing some important political, economic and social dilemmas for policymakers, academics and citizens. In particular, supplying a labour force to fuel economic growth and the ethics of providing decent work and protecting vulnerable minorities has become an important regional issue.
Contributions are welcomed on the following themes:
• Relations between employment and regional economic performance
• Unemployment, worklessness and regional employability
• Migration, mobility and local labour market segmentation
• Poverty, exclusion and the local labour market
• Commuting, mobility and the changing shape of the regional labour market
• Active labour market policy and regional outcomes
• Decent work, progressive regionalism and local living wage campaigns
Please submit offers of papers in the form of 400 word abstracts through the Regional Studies Association on-line conference portal by Friday 4th July 2008. Your MS Word file should contain your name, telephone, fax and e-mail details. To submit go to www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk and follow the Winter Conference Call for Papers link.
Proposals will be considered by the Conference Programme Committee against the criteria of originality and interest, subject balance and geographical spread.
Lisa Bibby-Larsen, Regional Studies Association,
PO Box 2058, Seaford BN25 4QU, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1323 899 698, Fax: +44 (0) 1323 899 798, E-mail: [log in to unmask]
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
09:00 COFFEE AND REGISTRATION
09:20 Introduction and welcome
Professor David Bailey, Chair RSA and University of Birmingham - ask
Plenary session 1
Chair: Professor David Bailey, University of Birmingham, UK
09:30 Labour, agency and regional success
Dr Andy Cumbers, University of Glasgow
10:00 Immigrant workers in London
Professor Jane Wills, Queen Mary
10:30 The North – South divide
Professor Danny Dorling, University of Sheffield
11:00 Coffee
11:30 Morning workshops
13:00 Lunch
14:30 Afternoon workshops
16:00 Coffee break
Plenary session 2
Chair: Dr Andy Cumbers, University of Glasgow, Scotland - unsure
16:30 Title (tbc)
Alexandra Jones, The Work Foundation
17:00 Questions
17:15 Close
Lisa Bibby Larsen, Conference Officer,
Regional Studies Association, PO Box 2058
Seaford BN25 4QU
PLEASE NOTE NEW EMAIL ADDRESS:
[log in to unmask]
Tel: + 44 (0)1323 899 698
Fax: + 44 (0)1323 899 798
www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk
Why not join the RSA?
Follow the link to see how you would benefit - http://www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk/members/benefits.asp
2008 Prices - £74/€119 individual, £35/€56 student, £56/€90 early career and associate, £152/€244 corporate
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