Investigaciones Regionales - Journal of Regional Research has published the 65rd Issue, the second volume corresponding to 2026. Below you will find the summaries of the papers published in this volume, which can be accessed at https://investigacionesregionales.org/en/revista/spatial-econometrics-and-regional-science-in-memoriam-of-jesus-mur-and-ana-angulo/ We invite authors to submit papers at https://investigacionesregionales.org/en/envio-de-articulos/submission-of-papers-and-others-contributions/ Issue 65 Special Issue 2026 Spatial econometrics and regional science Editorial Fernando A. López, M. Luz Maté, Manuel Ruiz Spatial econometrics and regional science. In memoriam of Jesús Mur and Ana Angulo This special issue of Investigaciones Regionales is published in memory of Professors Jesús Mur and Ana Angulo, both faculty members of the Department of Economic Analysis at the University of Zaragoza. Their research made a decisive contribution to consolidating spatial econometrics within regional science, with a sustained emphasis—both methodological and empirical—on the importance of model specification and selection when incorporating spatial structure. As a tribute, the issue includes the re-publication (with permission) of their paper “Model selection strategies in a spatial setting: Some additional results”, originally published in Regional Science and Urban Economics (2009), which remains an indispensable reference in the literature. The remaining articles extend this legacy from complementary perspectives. Taken as a whole, the monograph highlights the continued relevance of Mur and Angulo’s central message: when space is part of the data-generating mechanism, reliable inference requires taking specification strategy seriously. Keywords: Spatial econometrics; specification; model selection; regional science; spatiotemporal dependence Download Jesús Mur, Ana Angulo Model selection strategies in a spatial setting: Some additional results This paper continues from the discussion of Florax et al. (Florax, R., H. Folmer and S. Rey, 2003. Specification searches in spatial econometrics: the relevance of Hendry’s methodology. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 33, 557–579.), regarding the properties of various specification strategies for spatial econometric models. Habitual practise has popularised a technique based on the well-known Lagrange Multipliers, characterized as a Specific- to-General approach, and which seems to give good results. In our work, we contemplate other alternatives, some of which may be seen as slight variations of this proposal, including the selection tests of Vuong (Vuong, Q., 1989. Likelihood ratio-tests for model selection and non-nested hypotheses. Econometrica, 57, 307–333.) and of Clarke (Clarke, K., 2003. Nonparametric model discrimination in international relations. Journal of Conflict Resolutions, 47, 72–93.). We also examine an approach of the General-to-Specific type, as clearly opposite to the others. The comparison of the two strategies is carried out through a Monte Carlo experiment, the results of which are quite diffuse, in the sense that we do not find conclusive evidence in favour of either of these two approaches. However, it should be recognized that the General-to-Specific strategy seems to be more robust to the existence of anomalies in the Data Generating Process. Keywords: Spatial econometrics; specification strategy; model selection techniques Download Francesca Centofanti, Roberto Basile, Francesca Licari, Jacopo Pitari The effect of internal migration on regional growth in Italy: a dynamic spatial panel data analysis This study assesses the effect of internal migration on regional growth in Italy at the NUTS-3 level over the period 2002-2019. The composition of the internal migration flows of the working-age population in Italy during the sample period appears substantially heterogeneous in nationality and labor skills. The analysis considers this heterogeneity, estimating various specifications of the dynamic spatial model and controlling for the endogeneity of migration variables through a control function approach. The evidence suggests that the internal migration of Italian citizens has a positive direct and spillover impact on regional growth, slowing down the convergence process. On the contrary, there is no evidence of a significant effect of internal migration of foreign citizens. Taking the skill composition of internal movements of Italian citizens into account, the adverse impact on convergence is magnified, thus corroborating the skill-selective hypothesis. Finally, the diverging impact of internal migration increases with the distance of migration flows. Keywords: Regional growth; convergence; migration; spatial dynamic models Download Marcos Herrera-Gómez, Sadit Ruano, Manuel Salvador Figueras Regional Economic Growth in Colombia: the role of Fiscal corruption and the Armed conflict This research explores the impact of armed violence and corrupti