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 divided into three parts. The first part is a thematic and epistemological introduction to the discipline, to the concepts of political-geographical economy, and to the modeling tools employed in this course. The second part examines the themes of economic (de-)growth, international trade, and the new economic geography. Finally, the third part explores agglomeration economies and territorial competitiveness through the lens of location theory, addressing, among other things, issues of industrial location, spatial competition, and urban economics.

Teaching methods

The theoretical material (volume 1) is taught in 13 class sessions, preferably held in person at the Louvain-la-Neuve campus. These sessions will serve, for example, to present and discuss models, whether conceptual or quantitative, to conduct serious games, or to host external guests. Several discussions of news articles will also be integrated into these sessions, allowing students to familiarize themselves with the format and level of expectation of the oral exam, as well as to practice for it.
The practical exercises (volume 2) related to the course will be conducted in 6 sessions of hands-on work. These will preferably take place in person in a computer lab at the Louvain-la-Neuve campus. Two types of sessions will occur. On one hand, the active learning activities aim to deepen the understanding of the theoretical material. On the other hand, the empirical work sessions are designed to introduce students to real economic data and its modeling, which are essential keys to understanding regional dynamics.

Evaluation methods

The final grade of the student is a weighted average (rounded up to the nearest whole number) of the student's results in the following two assessments. The default assessment language of each assessment is French.

1. The oral exam during the session (60% of the final grade). Its purpose is to evaluate the students' ability to identify the regional dynamics of agglomeration-marginalization in the economic news, and to discuss them based on their theoretical foundations. This is an oral exam that takes place during the regular session.
    
2. The empirical analysis report (40% of the final grade). Its purpose is to assess the students' ability to model the regional dynamics of agglomeration and marginalization based on empirical data. This is a continuous evaluative assessment that includes practical work sessions and a project to be submitted at the end of the term.
   
   The submission of the empirical analysis report AND participation in the practical work sessions dedicated to its completion are mandatory. Unless justified absence (Article 103 of the General Regulations for Studies and Examinations), a score of zero will be assigned to any student who has not attended all mandatory sessions OR who has not submitted the work by the required deadlines.
   This continuous assessment cannot be presented more than once. In the case of a second registration for the exam, the score for the empirical analysis report is the one obtained during the first registration.
   

Teaching materials

• matériel sur moodle

Faculty or entity

> GEOG