Consistency and crossbreeding in French speaking regional science: An epistemological investigation

This article assesses the output of French-speaking regional scientists based on published works in Revue dEconomie Régionale et Urbaine (1978-1999). We explore quantitative and qualitative aspects of regional science and make comparisons with Anglo-Saxon research. We focus on the topics, style and concepts studied and used over time. Our analysis scrutinises changes in the current patterns of thought used in French speaking regional science. We also demonstrate narrow and broad semantic fields according to regional science issues and explore the phenomenon of crossbreeding between fields of studies.Received: 7 June 2001, Accepted: 9 October 2002, JEL Classification: A12, R10, R20The authors wish to thank the editor and three anonymous referees for their helpful comments and suggestions. The usual disclaimer applies.