Isard’s Search for a Unified Theory: Spatial Integration and Regional Science

Walter Isard, the founder of Regional Science, developed one of the most groundbreaking projects of the twentieth century, known as Isard’s “Dream”. In his vision, space represented a fundamental dimension of economic analysis and general equilibrium theory, which were largely neglected in classical and neoclassical literature. Factors like production location, transportation costs, market areas and urban structures were treated as endogenous variables in his framework, developed particularly in his book Location and Space-Economy (1956). Despite remaining initially in the background due to its methodological and conceptual complexity, Isard’s work has gained renewed relevance and inspired new theories thanks to the emergence of new technologies and analytical tools. From the New Economic Geography (NEG) to recent studies on agglomeration and urban systems, these developments can be interpreted as a partial realisation of Isard’s ambition: restoring space at the core of economic science and understanding the geography of economic life as an essential component of human development.