Economic Geography

Teacher(s)

Gomes Joseph;

Language

English

Prerequisites

Basic notions of microeconomics and econometrics taught at the Bachelor level.

Main themes

The course will be built around three distinct parts, the first one focused on economic geography, the second one on urban economics and the third one on regional policies. Theoretical and empirical approaches will be continuously alternated. Specific topics, such as, for example, the spatial consequences of the European integration or NAFTA, spatial wage disparities in China, competitiveness clusters policies in Belgium and in France or EU structural funds will be treated.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	The aim of this course is to provide students with theoretical and empirical tools necessary to understand why the location of economic activities is uneven across space within countries. At the end of the term, the students should be able to discuss the existence, the causes and the consequences of regional inequalities. The primary goal of this course is not to focus on the technical aspects of the models or of the econometric techniques of the papers that will be presented. The students are rather expected to understand the concepts and the mechanisms behind, so as to integrate them in argumentative discussions about issues related to economic integration and local development.

Content

The course will be divided into two parts. The first part of the course will give a hands-on training to students on using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to manipulate spatial data.
The second part will focus on theoretical and empirical analysis of economic geography topics. Examples of topics covered in this section include: Analysing regional and spatial inequalities, assesing the role of economic geography and historical accidents in explaining these inequalities, among others.

Teaching methods

The first part of the course will take the form of computer-based lab sessions, where students will be guided through GIS methods by the professor. The Professor will make available all the data for this part of the course before the lab-sessions start. Lecture notes for this part will also be made available to the students.
The second part of the course will take the form of lectures that will cover theoretical and empirical aspects of the course. This part of the course will be based on lectures and the professor will subsequently share all the lecture notes and slides with the students.

Evaluation methods

There will be a written exam in June, which will account for 70% of the final grade. Students are also required to submit a GIS-based project after completing the practical GIS component of the course. This project, which will be done either individually or in small groups (as decided by the professor based on class size), will constitute the remaining 30% of the grade. The professor will suggest topics for the project, and the submission deadline, typically 31 May, will be announced at the beginning of the course.
Students will have the opportunity to retake the written exam in August if needed. The August exam will also count for 70% of the final grade, with the remaining 30% based on the previously submitted GIS project.
The GIS project must be submitted by the specified deadline (usually 31 May), and the grade from this component will carry over to the August session if the student has to retake the exam.
Note: Students are discouraged from using generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems in this course. However, if AI systems are used during assessments or class activities, they must adhere to the rules outlined in the faculty memorandum on this subject, which is available on the faculty’s intranet site: Note sur l’utilisation responsable des IA — Juillet 2024.

Other information

A good background in microeconomics, mathematics, and econometrics will be helpful for following the course.

Bibliography

Bibliographie:

• Theoretical and empirical part of the course: Economic geography, P.P. Combes, T. Mayer and J. Thisse, Princeton University Press.
• GIS part: Lecture Notes prepared by the Professor.

Faculty or entity

> ECON