On March 11, 2026, Hans Westlund, Professor and Ph.D. Supervisor at KTH Royal College of Technology, Lifetime Fellow of the Regional Science Association International, and a world-renowned scholar in regional economics, visited the College of Economic and Social Development and delivered an academic lecture titled “Technology, Spatial Concentration and Dispersion.”
The lecture was chaired by Zhiqiang Zhang, and opening remarks were delivered by Binglian Liu.
During his presentation, Professor Westlund provided an in-depth analysis of the impacts and evolving dynamics of technological change, agglomeration economies, and network effects on urban economics, regional economics, and regional science research. He emphasized that the integration of agglomeration economies and network effects helps reveal the microeconomic foundations of urban agglomeration. At the same time, he noted that the relationship between inter-spatial network effects and urban agglomeration economies still lacks a rigorous and comprehensive theoretical framework, as well as sufficient empirical evidence, representing an important area for future academic inquiry.
In the discussion session, faculty members and students from the College of Economic and Social Development and the College of Urban and Regional Economics engaged in lively exchanges with Professor Westlund on topics including:
Dual embeddedness of technology
Technology transfer between cities
Publishing in leading international journals in regional economics
Emerging research directions in regional science
Following the lecture, Zhiqiang Zhang and Ran Wang met with Professor Westlund to discuss recent achievements and future plans related to the development of the Regional Economics Laboratory at Nankai University.
The visit provided a valuable platform for academic exchange between internationally renowned scholars and faculty and students of Nankai University's regional economics program, further promoting the discipline's international engagement and academic development.
