ECONOMICS 4613 – URBAN ECONOMICS
Course Syllabus
Class Times: Monday and Wednesday, 3:35 – 4:50 pm
Classroom:
204 BEL
Professor:
Dr. Keith Ihlanfeldt, Devoe Moore Eminent Scholar, College of Social
Sciences and Public Policy
Email:
kihlanfe@fsu.edu
Office:
150-D Bellamy
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 1:30 – 3:30 pm or by appointment ( email, or
schedule before or after class)
ACADEMIC HONESTY
The Academic Honor System at Florida State University is based on the premise that each student
has the responsibility to:
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uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student’s own work
refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity
foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility.
Academic dishonesty in any form in this course will not be tolerated. If an instance of academic
dishonesty takes place, all students involved will receive a failing grade for the course. There are
no exceptions to this policy.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should (1) register with and provide
documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) and (2) bring a letter to the
instructor from SDRC indicating that you need accommodations. This should be done within the
first week of class.
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Course Description
In this course we will attempt to understand what makes cities tick, what prevents them
from ticking accurately and what we can do about these inaccuracies
This course is divided into two parts. In the first part of the course theories of location
will be considered. With these theories we will attempt to understand why cities exist,
why they are located where they are, and the spatial distribution of alternative activities
within cities. In part two of the course, we draw upon our knowledge of location theory to
analyze the urban problems of neighborhood decay, poverty, substandard housing, urban
sprawl, housing segregation, traffic congestion, and other urban problems.
Prerequisite
Economics 2023 (Principles of Microeconomics) or equivalent.
Materials
Textbook:
Urban Economics, Seventh Edition, by Arthur O’Sullivan.
Other readings are available on Blackboard (B)
Evaluation Procedure
(1)
(2)
(3)
Exam 1
Exam 2
Final Exam
30 percent, February 5
30 percent, March 19
40 percent, April 30, 12:30-2:30 pm
Course Outline
Introduction and Overview (Week One)
Text, Chapter 1, “Introduction and Axioms of Urban Economics”
B, Keith Ihlanfeldt, “The Importance of the Central City to the Regional and
National Economy: A Review of the Arguments and Empirical Evidence”
I.
Market Forces in the Development of Cities (Weeks Two and Three)
Text, Chapter 2, “Why Do Cities Exist”
Text, Chapter 3, “Why Do Firms Cluster?”
Text, Chapter 4, “City Size” (Note: You do not need to read Appendix: Central
Place Theory)
Text, Chapter 5, “Urban Growth” (Note: You do not need to read Appendix: The
Regional Context of Urban Growth”
II.
Land Rent and Urban Land-Use Patterns (Weeks Four, Five and Six)
Text, Chapter 6, “Urban Land Rent” (Note: You do not need to read Appendix:
Consumer and Factor Substitution)
Text, Chapter 7, “Land Use Patterns” (Note: You do not need to read last half of
the Appendix: A General Equilibrium Model of a Monocentric City)
B, Jan Brueckner, “Urban Sprawl: Diagnosis and Remedies”
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Text, Chapter 8, “Neighborhood Choice”
B, Ed Glaeser, “Racial Segregation in the 2000 Census: Promising News
Text, Chapter 9, “Zoning and Growth Controls”
III. Housing (Weeks Nine, Ten, and Eleven)
Text, Chapter 13, “Why is Housing Different”
Text, Chapter 14, “Housing Policy”
B, James Little, “The Dynamics of Neighborhood Change”
IV. Urban Transportation (Weeks Seven and Eight)
Text, Chapter 10, “Externalities from Autos”
Text, Chapter 11 “Mass Transit”
V. Urban Poverty (Week Twelve)
B, Ihlanfeldt , “A Primer on Spatial Mismatch within Urban Labor Markets”
V. Local Government (Week Thirteen and Fourteen)
Text, Chapter 15, “The Role of Local Government”
Text, Chapter 16, “Local Government Revenue”
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