Duration: 3 hours for 13 weeks [ECTS: 5]

Aim and objectives

The course aims to provide students with a deep understanding of the interaction between space and economy, and the way by which the spatial dimension affects economic phenomena and the function of the economy. In particular the course will provide an overview of the drivers and mechanisms that determine:

• the location of economic activities
• the concentration of economic activities
• the spatial pattern of land uses
• the regional specialization and the multiplier effects
• the flows of factors of productions between spatial areas.

Outline

• Introduction and overview of the course. The relation between economy and space and the regional science
• Location theory: The location-production models of Hoover, Weber and Moses. Market area analysis and the models of Losch, Palander and Hotelling. Behavioural theories of firm location.
• The spatial distribution of activities: Central place theories of Christaller and Losch. Urban systems. Agglomeration economies. Spatial concentration and regional diversification.
• Land rent theory and land uses: The classical bid-rent theory of Richardo and Von Thunen. Modern urban bid-rent theory, land prices and land uses of economic activities.
• Regional specialization and multiplier analysis: The economic base model. Keynesian regional multiplier. Regional Input-Output analysis
• Regional and inter-regional labour market analysis: Regional labour markets. Wages and inter-regional labour migration. Other models of inter-regional migration.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• outline the basic principles of, and distinguish between, the models of Hoover, Weber, Moses, Palander and Hotelling
• apply the location-production models and the principle of median location in order to explore and assess the location decision of specific economic activities
• calculate the market area of economic activities
• discuss why the location of firms might be different from this identified by the classical models
• outline the basic principles and compare the theories of agglomeration economies
• describe the central place theories of Christaller and Losch and apply them in order to specify the spatial distribution of urban centers
• outline the mechanism of land rent theory and use it in order to specify the spatial distribution of economic activities
• outline the basic principles of, and distinguish between, the theories of economic base, Keynesian regional multiplier and regional Input-Output analysis
• outline the basic principles of, and distinguish between, the theories of neoclassical and Keynesian approach in the analysis of the labour market.