Patricia Melo is an Honorary Associate of the Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences (SEGS) department at the James Hutton Institute. Patricia received her PhD (2010) and MSc (2006) at Imperial College London in regional economics and transport, and obtained her BSc in economics from the Technical University of Lisbon (2003).
Biography
The main focus of Patricia’s research is the spatial disparities in socio-economic performance. Work on socio-economic disparities has included the analysis of the effect of urban agglomeration economies and transport investment on regional development, the importance of proximity to urban areas to rural development, rural-urban interactions and city-region economies. Her research has also focused on the factors determining travel demand and sustainable transport, and commuting patterns.
Patricia has published research in top journals including Regional Science and Urban Economics, the Journal of Economic Geography, the Journal of Regional Science, Urban Studies, and Regional Studies. She has also written short general-readership pieces about her work; some examples are provided below:
- Informing rural policy in Scotland (Oct. 2016)
- While we live in a globalised world, the concentration of activity in cities continues to drive economic growth (Mar. 16)
- Commuting patterns in rural Scotland (Nov. 15)
- Lost in Space? Travel-to-Work Areas, City-Regions, and Strategic Development Planning Authorities (July 15)
- Regional employment growth in Scotland: 2001-2011 (Mar. 15)
- How important are regional income disparities in Scotland? (Oct. 14)
Ongoing and recent research projects
- RELOCAL – Resituating the Local in Cohesion and Territorial Development (EU H2020, 2016/20).
- Place-based policy and its implications for policy and service delivery (SG RESAS Programme RD3.4.2, 2016/21).
- Demographic change in remote areas (SG RESAS Programme RD3.4.1, 2016/21).
- GLAMURS – Green Lifestyles, Alternative Models and Up-scaling Regional Sustainability (EU Seventh Framework Programme, 2014/16).
- CXC – ClimateXChange, Scotland’s centre of expertise on climate change.
- Income Elasticities of Food Demand in Africa: A Meta-Analysis. European Commission – Joint Research Centre (2015).
- TiPSE – Territorial Dimension of Poverty and Social Exclusion in Europe (EU Seventh Framework Programme, 2012/14).
- The relationship between economic performance and social outcomes in rural communities (SG RESAS Programme WP8.1, 2013/16).
- The productivity effects of transport improvements (Economic and Social Research Council, 2011/12).
- Assessment of Wider Economic Impacts: a report for HS2 (Department for Transport, 2010).
Research
- Spatial disparities in socio-economic performance.
- Agglomeration economies and economic productivity.
- Transport investment and economic performance.
- Rural-urban interdependencies.
- Travel demand and travel mode choice.
- Econometric analysis of panel data.
