On Diffusion of Ideas in the Academic World: the Case of Spatial Econometrics

Spatial econometrics is a fast-growing field in the series of quantitative disciplines, auxiliaries of economics and related social sciences. Space, friction, interdependence, spatiotemporal components, externalities and many other aspects interact and should be treated adequately in this field. The publication of the Paelinck and Klaassen book in the late 1970s generated virtually the field spatial econometrics This article studies the diffusion of spatial econometrics, through experienced history on the one hand, on the other through bibliometric methods. Although this field was an “Invisible College” up to 2006 (absence of any organization in form of association, conference, journal, etc.), the databases depict a fast diffusion in the past and strong prospects for the future.