316-315 Regional and Urban Economics

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Prerequisite/s:

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Objectives:

On completion of this subject students should be able to:

• extend their knowledge of regional economics via the independent study of books and articles dealing with theory and policy in this area and by taking advanced subjects dealing with these matters;

• judge the usefulness and the limitations of existing theory in the area of regional economics;

• critically evaluate contemporary policy debates in the area of regional economics with reference to economic theory.

Content:

Processes shaping the economic development of regions and urban areas. Urban areas as components of a regional system growing and changing over time. The way that economic development occurs in space - alternative economic models (neoclassical, export base, centre-periphery, cumulative causation and a multi-variate model integrating regional and urban forces for change). Specific influences on regional and urban development, including: natural resources, transport change, agglomeration and dispersion forces, externalities, internal migration theory, labour and capital mobility and returns, investment criteria, monopoly power, the spatial diffusion of innovations and non-economic location behaviour. Policy issues including systems planning versus market-orientated policy approaches. Case studies drawn from Australia, Europe and North America.

Assessment:

Prescribed Texts:

• Armstrong H and Taylor J, Regional Economics and Policy, 2nd ed. 1993, Harvester/Wheatsheaf.