New theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions to spatial economics

This editorial introduces the eight papers included in this issue of Spatial Economic Analysis (SEA). The papers belong to the three main types of articles normally published in the journal, namely theoretical/conceptual papers, methodological contributions and empirical studies where novel advanced techniques or granular databases allow conceptual assumptions to be tested. The first paper has been developed from the journal’s 2024 Annual Lecture and concerns the role of behavioural theories in regional development, focusing on the concept of possibilities, which stem from patterns of behaviour from which new, alternative and improved outcomes can arise. Methodologically, two papers in the issue introduce multiscale geographically weighted quantile regressions and a spatial stochastic frontier model with fixed effects and endogenous environmental variables. The remaining papers study how participation in the global value chain affects country value added, the development role of different types of creative and cultural industries, the location factors of firms at the municipality level, the behaviour and paths of cruise passenger tourists, and the price mechanisms of gas stations inside urban agglomerations.