ECN326 Urban Economics

Aims/Description: Urban economics is concerned with understanding the spatial form of cities and the spatial distribution of economic activities within a country, making use of theoretical models and empirical evidence. Three fundamental questions are: (1) Why are economic activities within a country so unequally distributed across space? (2) Why do cities, and more broadly agglomerations of firms and workers, emerge and in what locations? (3) What are the consequences of unequal distribution of activities for productivity, innovation and wages? This module covers topics such as:- Why do cities exist and why do firms cluster?- What determines equilibrium city size and features of the urban system?- City growth, spatial transformation and the implications for productivity, knowledge and wages.- Real Estate economics and the housing market.- Diseconomies in cities: Urban location, land rents and land use patterns.- Unequal distribution of economic activities and levelling-up.- Transportation economics.- Urbanisation in developing countries.

Restrictions on availability: ECN130 and ECN21004 or ECN21007

Staff Contact: VANINO ENRICO

Teaching Methods: Lectures, Seminars, Fieldwork, Independent Study

Assessment: Formal Exam, Course work

Information on the department responsible for this unit (Economics):

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Teaching timetable

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Teaching methods and assessment displayed on this page are indicative for 2023-24.