Living With and Loving a No-Win Situation
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Abstract
“Values of Regional Science” was the title of my 1W Presidential Address, a title not unlike those of several other early presidential addresses to the fledgling Regional Science Association. I shall summarize the 1964 address and then speculate about what seems to be a paradox. Regional science has the right sort of values, yet has achieved only limited success in claiming homes in academia. How can this be? “Values” and “success*’ are the key words here, and the following incorporates and extends beyond those words. After briefly revisiting the 1964 paper, which dealt with values using an insideloutside scheme, I will take a personalized detour that suggests where I am coming from. Then, I will explore a structure, behavior, and performance scheme, partially at a personal-experience level. Academic-like values are included in the discussion where appropriate, but they seem not so much at issue. The structure of regional science may not mandate the need for departmental homes in universities. If “winning” is defined as the creation of departments, regional science may have to live with a “no-win” situation, which might not be so bad. There may be other successful styles for competing in the evolving world of ideas and their practice.