Class time: T/Th 9:25 am -10:40 pm
Email: rasha.ahmed@trincoll.edu
Class Room:
Office Phone: 860-297-2446
Office Hours: MWF *** or by appointment
Course Description and objectives
Urban economics is the study of the location choices of firms and consumers and how these choices affect different urban phenomenon. The course will explore four urban topics:
1. Cities around the world: The rise of cities in developed and developing countries and the challenges currently faced by each.
2. Technology: Technological advances in production, transportation and communication and how they shape urban landscapes in terms of size and function.
3. Segregation: The economic analysis of racial segregation and the impact it had on the functioning of markets, e.g. housing and labor markets, and opportunities for reform.
4. Education: The impact of space on education opportunities and achievement. An analysis of the education gap at the local and international level and strategies for reform.
A prior background in urban economics is not required although interest in the subject matter is. I will start each topic with a brief overview of the economic approach to the particular urban issue. Students research each topic through reading the required articles, choosing a question of interest to research, prepare a presentation to the class. By the end of each topic I will give you a writing assignment that tests your ability to synthesize the material covered in a meaningful way.
Grading
The Grade for class will be calculated as follows:
Writing assignments 60%
Participation/ in class writing 20%
Presentations 20%
Policies
1. I expect you to attend every class and to be there on time and not to leave till the end. I understand that this is your last semester and that many of you will be interviewing for jobs. I expect you to schedule your job interviews so you do not miss class.
2. I expect you to be engaged in the class at all times.
3. I expect you to check your email regularly.
4. If you accumulate more than two absences, 1 % will be deducted from your final grade for every class missed.
5. Papers submitted within a week after the due date will get graded and discounted by 30%. There are no makeups for missed presentations.
6. There are no “extra credit” assignments. Your grade will be determined as outlined in the grading section above.
7. Dishonest conduct or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Please refer to the Student Handbook for a review of requirements.
Finally, students are encouraged to speak with me directly should any concerns or difficulties arise. I am happy to work with students who need extra help. Please feel free to drop by during office hours, send an email or speak with me following class time.
Books
Glaeser, Edward (2011). “Triumph of the City” the Penguin Press.
Glaeser, Edward and David Cutler (2021). “Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in an Age of Isolation,” the Penguin Press.
Arnott, Richard and Dan McMillen.2006. A Companion to Urban Economics. Blackwell Publishers
Bluestone, Barry, Mary Huff Stevenson, and Russell Williams. 2008. The urban experience: economics, society, and public policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press
DeSoto, Hernando. 2000. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. Basic Books.
Inman, Robert. 2009. Making Cities Work: Prospects and Policies for Urban America. Princeton University Press
O’Sullivan, Arthur. 2008. Urban Economics. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 7e
Course Outline
The following is an outline of the topics that will be covered each week. The outline and dates may be changed during the semester.
Week 1, 2, 3, 4 (Feb 9 – March 9): Overview of Urban Economics Urbanization and growth of cities, cities in developed and developing countries,
Overview: The benefits and costs of cities, Urbanization and development, The modern city, Urban policies
First Writing Assignment Due
Book Chapters:
- O’Sullivan, chapters 2-5
- Bluestone, chapters 1, 2
- Inman, chapters 1 and 2
- De Soto chapters 2-4
- Glaeser chapters 0, 1, 2, 3, 4
Articles:
- America’s Ten Dead Cities: From Detroit to New Orleans. 24/7 Wall Street, August 2010
- See: The Industrial Revolution Overview
- See: The BBC documentary on the industrial revolution
- Assessing Urban Development After the Arab Spring: Illusions and Evidence of Change, Built Environment, Vol 40 (1)
- UNFPA State of World Population 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth
- Hamer, Andrew and Johannes Linn (1987). “Urbanization in the developing World: Patterns Issues and Policies,” available in Edwin S. Mills Handbook of Urban and Regional Economics, Vol 2, 1255-1284
- United Nations Population Report 2019
- Chetty, Raj, Nathaniel Hendren, Patrick Kline and Emmanuel Saez(2014). “Where is the Land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States,” NBER working paper
- World Bank (2009). Reshaping Economic Geography. Report
- World Bank (2009). Reshaping Economic Geography. Documentary
- Marx, Benjamin, Thomas Stoker and Tavneet Suri (2013). “The Economics of Slums in the Developing World,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 27(4): 187- 210
Week 5, 6, 7 : Technology (March 11- March 30)
Technology of Production, Communication and Transportation
Book Chapters:
Inman, chapter 3
Bluestone, chapter 10
Glaeser, chapter 7
Reading Articles:
- Glaeser, Edward (1998). Are Cities Dying? Journal of Economic Perspectives 12(2):139- 160
- Gasper, Jess and Edward Glaeser (1998). “Information Technology and the Future of Cities,” Urban Economics, 43(1): 136-156
- Goldin, Claudia and Lawrence (1988). “The Origins of Technology – skill complementarity,” Quarterly Journal of Economics
- Piketty, Thomas and Emmanuel Saez. 2003. “Income Inequality in the United States, 1913-1998.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 118(1): 1-39.
- Autor, David H. 2014. “Skills, education, and the rise of earnings inequality among the ‘other 99 percent.’” Science 344(6186): 843-85.
- Goldin, Claudia and Lawrence Katz. 2010. The Race Between Education and Technology Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
- Leamer E.E., Storper M. (2014) “The Economic Geography of the Internet Age,” In: Cantwell J. (eds) Location of International Business Activities. Palgrave Macmillan, London
- Bell, Alex, Raj Chetty, Xavier Jaravel, Neviana Petkova, and John Van Reenen. 2019. “Who Becomes an Inventor in America? The Importance of Exposure to Innovation.” Quarterly Journal of Economics
- Ahmed, Rasha, Mark Stater and Michael S. Visser (2017). “Market and Welfare Effects of Big Box Retail Entry in a Linear City Model with Oligopolistic Competition,” Annals of Economics and Statistics, 127.
- Ahmed, Rasha and Mark Stater (2017). “Is energy efficiency under provided? An analysis of the provision of energy efficiency in multi-attribute products,” Resource and Energy Economics, 49: 132-149
- Glaeser, Edward L. and Matthew E. Kahn (2004). “Sprawl and Urban Growth,” Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, 4: 2481-2527
- Glaeser, Edward L., Matthew E. Kahn and Jordan Rappaport. (2008). “Why do the poor live in cities? The role of public transportation.” Journal of Urban Economics 63(1): 1-24
- Helfand, Gloria, and Ann Wolverton. “Evaluating the Consumer Response to Fuel Economy: A Review of the Literature.” International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics 5.2 (2011): 103-146
- Kenworthy,Jeffrey R. and Felix B. Laube. (1996) “Automobile dependence in cities: An international comparison of urban transport and land use patterns with implications for sustainability,” Environmental Impact Assessment Review 16(4–6): 279–308
- Litman, Todd (2006). “London Congestion Pricing Implications for Other Cities.” Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Jan 10
- Mahaparta, Lisa (2013). “Gas Prices At The Pump: Europeans Pay Almost Twice As Much As US Residents” International Business Times
- Ford, Peter (2005). “Gas prices too high? Try Europe.” The Christian Science Monitor
- “FACTBOX: Auto emission standards around the world.” Reuters 2009
- Snavely, Brent (2012). “U.S. announces tough new 54.5-mpg CAFE standard for vehicle fuel economy” Detroit Free Press
- End of Suburbia documentary
Week 8, 9, 10: (April 1-20) Segregation and Housing
Rise of the suburb
Housing segregation
Housing assistance and promoting home ownership
Third Writing Assignment due
Book Chapters:
Inman, chapter 5
Bluestone, chapter 12
Edwards, chapter 13
O’Sullivan, chapter 8
Reading Articles:
Fischel, William A. “An Economic History of Zoning and a Cure for its Exclusionary Effects,” Urban Studies, 41(2): 317–340, February 2004
“Social Benefits of Homeownership and Stable Housing,” National Association of Realtors Research Division , August 2010
Dietz, Robert D. and Donald R. Haurin (2003). “The social and private micro-level consequences of homeownership,” Journal of Urban Economics, 54 (3): 401–450
Collins, Michael (2003). “Towards a Strategic Federal Policy Promoting Homeownership,” Federal Homeownership Policy.
Ross, Stephen (2008). “ Understanding Racial Segregation: What is known about the Effect of Housing Discrimination,” UConn Working Paper
Seitles, Marc (1996). “The Perpetuation of Residential Racial Segregation in America: Historical Discrimination, Modern Forms of Exclusion, and Inclusionary Remedies,” Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law
Ladd, Helen (1998). “Evidence on Discrimination in Mortgage Lending,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives,12(2): 41- 62
Been,Vicki, Ingrid Ellen, and Josiah Madar (2008). “The High Cost of Segregation: Exploring Racial Disparities in High Cost Lending,” Fordham Urban Law Journal, 36(3)
US Census Bureau. Residential Segregation of Blacks or African Americans: 1980- 2000, Chapter 5, page 59
Suresh, Geetha and Gennaro f. Vito (2009). “Homicide Patterns and Public Housing : The Case of Louisville, KY (1989- 2007)” Homicide Studies
Popkin, Susan J., Michael J. Rich, Leah Hendey, Chris Hayes, and Joe Parilla, “Public Housing Transformation and Crime: Making the Case for Responsible relocation” The Urban Institute
Denvir, Daniel (2011). “The Ten Most Segregated Urban Areas in America,” Salon, March 29
David M. Cutler, Edward L. Glaeser, and Jacob L. Vigdor (1999). “The Rise and Decline of the American Ghetto,” Journal of Political Economy, 107(3): 455- 506
Chetty, Raj, Nathaniel Hendren, and Lawrence F. Katz. 2016. “The Effects of Exposure to Better Neighborhoods on Children: New Evidence from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment.” American Economic Review 106 (4): 855–902. Non-technical summary
Chetty, Raj, and Nathaniel Hendren. 2018. “The Impacts of Neighborhoods on Intergenerational Mobility I: Childhood Exposure Effects.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 133(3): 1107-1162. Non-technical summary.
Week 11, 12, 13 April (April 22 – May 11): Education
Education and Market failure
Education crisis, segregation and empirical evidence
presentations
Book Chapters:
O’Sullivan, chapter 12
Bluestone, chapter 8
Inman, chapter 9
Reading Articles:
-
Brown v. Board at Fifty: “With an Even Hand” A century of Racial segregation, Library of Congress
- Chetty, Raj, Nathaniel Hendren, Patrick Kline and Emmanuel Saez(2014). “Where is the Land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States,” NBER working paper
- Hoxby, Caroline Minter (1996). “Are Efficiency and Equity in School Finance Substitutes or Complements?” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 10(4): 51-73
- Tulip, Peter and Gregory Wurzburg (2007). “Primary and Secondary Education in the United States,” OECD Economics Department working Paper No. 585
- Taylor, Lori (1999) “Government’s Role in Primary and Secondary Education,” Economic Review — Dallas, 15 – 23
- The Cities, Suburbs and Schools Project website. (read the report titled: Visual Guide to Sheff vs. O’Neill School Desegregation)
- Bifulco, Robert, Helen Ladd and Stephen Ross (2009). “The Effects of Public School Choice on Those Left Behind: Evidence from Durham, North Carolina,” Peabody Journal of Education, 84:130- 149
- Ross, Stephen, John Clapp and Anupam Nanda (2008). “Which school attributes matter? The influence of school district performance and demographic composition on property values,” Journal of Urban Economics 63, 451-466
- Chetty, Raj, John N. Friedman, and Jonah E. Rockoff. 2011. “Measuring the Impacts of Teachers II: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood.” American Economic Review 104 (9): 2633–79.
- Fredriksson, Peter, Björn Öckert, and Hessel Oosterbeek. 2013. “Long-Term Effects of Class Size.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 128 (1): 249–85.
- Reardon, Sean. 2016. “School Segregation and Racial Academic Achievement Gaps.” Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 2 (5): 34–57.
- Reardon, Sean, Demetra Kalagrides, and Kenneth Shores. 2016. “The Geography of Racial/ Ethnic Test Score Gaps.” CEPA Working Paper, no. 16.
- Bifulco, Robert, Jason Fletcher, Sun Jung Oh and Stephen Ross (2009). “Do High School Peers Have Persistent Effects on College Attainment and Other Life Outcomes?”Labour Economics 29: 83- 90
- Dobbie, Will, and Roland G. Fryer. 2011. “Are High-Quality Schools Enough to Increase Achievement among the Poor? Evidence from the Harlem Children’s Zone.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 3 (3): 158–87.
- Baker, Bruce (2012). “Does Money Matter in Education?” The Albert Shanker Institute
- Hoxby, Caroline, and Sarah Turner. 2013. “Expanding College Opportunities for High-Achieving, Low Income Students.” Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper, no. 12-014: 1–57
- Zimmerman, Seth D. 2014. “The Returns to College Admission for Academically Marginal Students.” Journal of Labor Economics 32(4): 711-754.
- Chetty, Raj, John N. Friedman, Nathaniel Hilger, Emmanuel Saez, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, and Danny Yagan. 2011. “How Does Your Kindergarten Classroom Affect Your Earnings? Evidence from Project STAR.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 126 (4): 1593–1660.