Call for papers DIME Final conference 6-8 April 2011, Maastricht UNU-MERIT & School of Economics and Business, Maastricht University
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DIME (Dynamics of Institutions and Markets in Europe) is a network of Excellence sponsored by the EU 6th Framework Programme. Over its lifetime of 6 years, DIME has organized many activities that provide a broad perspective on the role of Europe in the global knowledge economy, from a perspective that covers geography, evolutionary economics, institutional economics, organization and management science, and other relevant disciplines. DIME will come to an end on 30 April 2011, and will organize a final conference in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The aim of the conference is to summarize and conclude on DIME’s activities. Contributed papers from DIME members or other interested participants are invited on the following topics.

1. Heterogeneity in economics and innovation, sessions organized by F. Malerba, R. Cowan & M. McKelvey.
Firms, consumers and other agents are heterogeneous.  The role of such heterogeneity in processes of change, growth and evolution, as well as the sources of heterogeneity, are still very open to debate.  Both empirical and theoretical work is necessary to clarify the role of heterogeneity further.

2. Growth and development, sessions organized by G. Dosi, L. Soete and B. Verspagen.
Both rich and poor countries are constantly looking for ways to accelerate economic growth and achieve sustainable development. Knowledge, innovation and new technologies play a crucial role in this process. The recent economic crisis has once again underlined the limited use of mainstream economic theory in this light.  This topic will take stock on recent advances in (macro)­economics and related disciplines to address growth and development.

3. The paradox of localization and globalization, sessions organized by P. Maskell and A. Varga.
It has been argued that with globalization (the increased ability of firms and other economic actors to move), the local level of governance has become more important. What does this imply for theory and empirical work in our field? We have begun to analyze this, but it is still open for research to uncover how mechanisms working at the global scale and forces active at the local level simultaneously determine the actual patterns of spatial agglomeration and its evolution.

4. Organization and innovativeness, sessions organized by E. Steinmueller and L. Marengo.
What makes some firms more innovative than others? There is now solid evidence that significant and persistent differences exist between firms, even when sectoral and national specificities are taken into account, in their capabilities to produce innovations and to profit from them. We lack an understanding of how to set priorities among the different classes of explanation offered so far.

5. Economic dynamics and the environment, sessions organized by L. Lizal and V. Oltra.
Evolutionary economics has hardly devoted attention to environmental dimensions of economic systems. Emphasis has been put on the creative dimension of economic dynamics while destructive aspects and ecological debris have been left over. But the growing interest in the issue of environmental innovations pursued by firms has opened room for evolutionary approaches and new discussions, in particular on the role of eco-innovation.

6. Dynamics of technology and knowledge, sessions organized by P. Llerena, E. Brousseau and A. Nuvolari.
Understanding innovation, technology and knowledge requires a multi-disciplinary perspective. Recent work on the dynamics of knowledge creation builds upon a rich tradition in disciplines such as history, economics, sociology, and management science. This topic of the conference will take stock of what has been established in these fields, and what outlook they provide for modern research programmes.

Submission of paper proposals

Each of the above topics will host a plenary session and several parallel sessions. Proposals for presentations in the parallel sessions are invited in the form of abstracts or full draft papers. Abstracts should identify the motivation or purpose of the paper, the theories and methods employed, the tentative or actual findings, and, where appropriate, the nature of the data utilized.  Abstracts should be no more than 2 pages in length. All submissions (full papers or abstracts) should indicate for which of the above topic(s) the paper is deemed relevant. The program will be selected by the scientific committee, which consists of the session organizers listed above. Paper proposals submitted before 1 October 2010 will be given priority in the selection process, and further papers will be selected from proposals submitted before 1 November 2010. The conference program will be announced before 25 November 2010. Paper proposals must be sent by email (as pdf attachments) to Bart Verspagen (b.verspagen@maastrichtuniversity.nl) and Silvana de Sanctis (sg.desanctis@maastrichtuniversity.nl).

Young Scholars

Over its lifetime, DIME has devoted significant efforts to the training of young researchers, for example through the DIMETIC programme.  Participants in one of the DIMETIC sessions are particularly invited to submit paper proposals. Best paper awards will be given in each of the conference topics. Papers written exclusively by scholars who obtained their PhD degree in 2008 or later, or who have not yet obtained their PhD degree, and who are under 35 years of age at the time of the conference will qualify for these awards. Please mention while submitting if your paper competes for the awards.

Local organization

The conference is organized by Luc Soete and Bart Verspagen, and will take place at UNU-Merit and Maastricht University (School of Business and Economics). UNU-MERIT is a joint research and training centre of United Nations University (UNU) and Maastricht University, The Netherlands. Maastricht is a small city in the Southern part of the Netherlands, providing a unique local atmosphere in its historical center.

Practical Information

Information on conference registration and accommodation will be distributed at a later stage.

Travel information: Maastricht can be reached by train from the national airports in Brussels and Amsterdam (Brussels is slightly closer), as well as from regional airports in Eindhoven or Maastricht. Good train connections exist to Paris Nord, Brussels and Liege, as well as all train stations in the Netherlands. A bus connection to Aachen train station also exists. DIME will cover meals for all participants; travel funds are available for a limited number of young participants from DIME member institutes.

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