Economic geography

Teacher(s)

Delloye Justin;

Language

French

Main themes

The first part of this course is dedicated to the influence of several factors on the location of production activities : transport costs, organisation of the production, spatial competition, external economies. In the second part, we focus on the economic functioning of regions, particularly on inter-industrial exchanges, theories of regional growth, and interregional exchanges. The third part is dedicated to the Krugman canonical model of economic geography. Students will prepare a research assignment on the goals, functioning and outcomes of some of the main global actors of development policies.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	To understand the basis of location theory (the theory of location of economic activities) with an emphasis on the competitive context in which they operate. To understand regional dynamics, including the factors that favor the concentration of activities and threaten the marginalisation of regions.

Content

The course is given in 3 parts. Part 1 is a thematic and epistemological introduction to the discipline, the concepts of political-geographical economics and economic modeling. Part 2 examines the themes of economic growth and international trade using quantitative models. Finally, Part 3 studies the fundamental models of location theory, including industrial location, spatial competition theory, urban economics and the new economic geography.

Teaching methods

The theoretical material is taught in 13 ex-cathedra sessions, preferably held face-to-face at the Louvain-la-Neuve site.
Practical exercises relating to the course will be carried out in 6 practical sessions. These will preferably be held face-to-face in a computer room at the Louvain-la-Neuve site.
In the event of the course being prevented from running smoothly (e.g. due to a pandemic), a Teams group will be set up to continue the course remotely.

Evaluation methods

The student's final grade is a weighted average (rounded up) of the student's results in the following 3 assessments.

1. The theoretical examination (50% of the final grade). The aim of this exam is to assess the critical understanding of the concepts and models presented in the theory course during the semester. It is held in regular session and consists of a closed book written examination with open questions.
    
2. The practical examination (40% of the final grade). The aim of this exam is to evaluate the student's ability to solve simple problems using the technical and computer tools presented during the term in the practical sessions. It will be held outside the regular term and consists of a closed book but computer assisted written examination with open and/or multiple choice questions.
   Attendance at the practical sessions is compulsory. In accordance with article 72 of the General Regulations for Studies and Examinations, the course instructors may propose to the jury that it oppose the registration of a student who has not attended at least 80% of the practical work sessions during the January, June or September session.
    
3. Empirical work (10% of final grade). The aim is to familiarize the student with modern Belgian and international databases available for studying geographical economics. It also aims to assess the student's ability to produce descriptive statistics from these empirical data, and to interpret them in the light of the theoretical principles presented in the course. The data are selected and made available by the lecturer at the beginning of the term, together with specific instructions and exact assessment criteria for the written report due at the end of the term.
   Submission of the empirical work report is compulsory. In accordance with article 72 of the General Regulations for Studies and Examinations, course instructors may propose to the jury that the registration of a student who has not handed in the work by the required deadline be refused in the January, June or September session.

The following principles apply to all three assessments.

• The default assessment language is French.
• The above procedures are valid regardless of the session in which the student submits the examination.

Online resources

Course materials, complementary readings and other useful resources will be shared on the course Moodle page.

Teaching materials

• matériel sur moodle

Faculty or entity

> GEOG