The course offers an overview of the theoretical foundations of regional economics, with a focus on regional economic growth and localisation choices. The course will consider theories of regional development and of local clusters. Critical issues and challenges about local development will be considered.

1 Agglomeration and localisation (chapter 1 R. Capello)

2 Accessibility and localisation (chapter 2 R. Capello)

3 Hierarchy and localisation (chapter 3 R. Capello)

4 Productive structure and development (chapter 4 R. Capello)

5 Demand (chapter 5 R. Capello + additional material on input-output analysis in the slides - in Italian)

6 Factors' endowment (chapter 6 R. Capello)

7 Territorial competitiveness and exogenous development (chapter 7 R. Capello, except paragraphs 4 and 6)

8 Territorial competitiveness and endogenous development: agglomeration economies (chapter 8 R. Capello)

Knowledge and understanding:
The course of regional economics tackles the issues of localisation choices, transportation costs, accessibility and agglomeration economies, with a particular interest on industrial and urban contexts. The course considers both a more classical context and the most recent development. The course consists in in-person lectures, with the help of slides and other supporting material.

Applying knowledge and understanding:
The student should acquire knowledge and ability to apply general knowledge to specific cases about the topics discussed in class. The student will also acquire knowledge about theoretical and empirical tools to analyse endogenous and exogenous factors that contribute to regional economic growth. The approach enables the understanding of economic phenomenon and the interpretation of data.

Making judgements:
The study of regional economics adds the spatial dimension to the study of the functioning of markets and requires to understand its role and the role of the availability of natural resources, physical capital, human capital, social capital, technological innovation for the process of local economic growth. The student will need to be able to assess the spatial-economic differences across economic systems.

Communication skills:

The course aims at developing adequate communication skills, with particular focus on technical jargon, both in oral and written form.

Learning skills:
Learning skills will be surveyed all over the duration of the course and the teaching method will be fine-tuned to be adapted to the specificities of the class.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

In-person teaching

Attendance

Attendance is not compulsory but is strongly recommended

Course books

Roberta Capello - Economia Regionale - edizioni Il Mulino, ultima edizione [compulsory; chapters from 1 to 8, except selected paragraphs as are reported in the slides]

a version in English is available (with exactly the same content and numbers for chapters and paragraphs): Roberta Capello - Regional Economics - Routledge publishing

Enrico Moretti – La nuova geografia del lavoro – edizioni Mondadori (also available in English as “The new geography of jobs”) [optional reading]

Assessment

The assessment of learning is evaluated by means of a written exam with 4 open-ended questions
Evaluation criteria are: i. mastery of knowledge; ii. ability to argue; iii. ability to be synthetic.
Each criterion is evaluated by means of 4-levels evaluations.
The final grade is reported in /30.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

In-person teaching

Course books

Roberta Capello - Economia Regionale - edizioni Il Mulino, ultima edizione [compulsory; chapters from 1 to 8, except selected paragraphs as are reported in the slides]

a version in English is available (with exactly the same content and numbers for chapters and paragraphs): Roberta Capello - Regional Economics - Routledge publishing

Enrico Moretti – La nuova geografia del lavoro – edizioni Mondadori (also available in English as “The new geography of jobs”) [optional reading]

Assessment

The assessment of learning is evaluated by means of a written exam with 4 open-ended questions
Evaluation criteria are: i. mastery of knowledge; ii. ability to argue; iii. ability to be synthetic.
Each criterion is evaluated by means of 4-levels evaluations.
The final grade is reported in /30.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.