Introduction to Urban and Transport Economics

Description

Practical information Course ID: FEB13094 Credits: 4 EC Instruction language: English Registration procedure: Via OSIRIS Secretariat: Support Office Applied Economics, T18-13, 010 4082776, office.ae@ese.eur.nl Course description Content: The course Introduction to Urban & Transport Economics is a Bachelor introductory course for the master specialisation Urban, Port and Transport Economics. At bachelor level, the course sets the stage and complements for an Urban Economics and Transport track. Urban and transport economics has a long tradition as a discipline. All economic phenomena take place within geographical space. Traditionally spatial economic analysis has broadly been split into two sub-fields, namely urban economics and regional economics. These are by no means mutually exclusive categories and many analyses fall into both categories. The distinction between the two has arisen because of asking slightly different questions. Urban economics is generally concerned with the nature and workings of the economy of the city. Regional economics tends to ask questions related to the larger spatial areas than single cities, and the models used emphasize this broader spatial perspective, including commuting transport economics. However, there are many issues which can be analysed within either field, such as questions relating to the locations of cities, the location and performance of firms, the migration behaviour of labour, and the transport, storage and selling of goods and services. Transport economics is a complementary well-developed discipline with branches in many areas of economic science. The transport sector can be divided into two large sub sectors: transportation of goods and passenger transport. Both sectors have witnessed dramatic changes in the last decades, especially in urban regions. On the one hand the increasing transport flows of goods around the world are the results of changing trade patterns and production systems and, on the other hand, the increasing predominance of private motor vehicle use in passenger transport is the results of welfare growth and changes in travel behaviour. Changing travel behaviour and changing appreciation of urban working and living areas together shape regional economic development potentials. This course focuses on the central question: how do we explain the interrelated development of urban and transport economic dynamics, and how do we satisfy the changing mobility and location needs of an increasing population in an equal, efficient and sustainable way? Directions in which urban and transport economics developed in the last years are manifold. This is fuelled by the fact that the urban world is expanding at a rapid pace. Fuelled by social and economic networks, cities are becoming ever more central in modern society. The relation of urban economics and transport economics with other fields of research will be essential to understand the new realities and sustainable futures of urban (economic) life. Learning goals: • To get acquainted with basic theories on urban and regional economics and transport economics and learn more on the locational behaviour of people, companies and investors. • To understand the observed patterns of geographical clustering of firms (for example Silicon Valley) and the economic explanations for this behaviour. • To get insight in global location patterns and transport consequences of economic activities. • To deepen the knowledge of the impact of fundamental trends as economic restructuring, globalisation, accessibility and the 'informationalisation' on the urban and regional economy. • To understand the functioning of the urban and regional transport market. • To increase insight into contemporary urban, regional and transport economic policy. Changes as compared to previous year: The curriculum is similar to the one of last year, but in the transport part there will be more focus on themes such as transport poverty and changing transport behaviour. Extra: There are no extra costs for taking this course. Study materials The course uses a central textbook, of which most chapters are compulsory reading. Additionally, a number of scientific articles are used in the lectures and are compulsory reading as well. The exact reference to these articles will be provided by the lectures prior the beginning of the course.; Recommended literature will be made available during the course. Entrance requirements Assumed previous knowledge: Bachelor-1 Economie en Bedrijfseconomie / IBEB Bachelor-2 Economie en Bedrijfseconomie / IBEB. BSc2 students: year 1 without FEB12002X – Philosophy of Economics, year 2, and FEB12004X-International Economics. Entrance requirements course enrolment: You must meet the following requirements Enrolled for one of the following degree programmes BSc2 Econometrics ECON-DIV Econometrics and Operations Research Economics and Business Economics International Bachelor Econometrics and Operations Research International Bachelor Economics and Business Economics Premaster Economics and Business Period Enrolment periods: Enrolment period: 1 December 2025 until 16 January 2026 23:59 Unenrolment: until 16 January 2026 23:59 Period of education: 29 december 2025 until 28 februari 2026 Assessment Assessment requirements: Individual assignment and Final Exam Assessment materials: Compulsory literature and lecture slides Assessments (result in OSIRIS): Test weight: 30; Test weight: 70 Assessment: Resit opportunity