[Sci-tech-public] MIT 11.481J, 1.284J, ESD.192J ANALYZING AND ACCOUNTING FOR REGIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH

[Karen R. Polenske]

Welcome to the Spring term:

We have updated the readings for this MIT 11.481J, 1.284J, ESD.192J 
class.  The full syllabus is now available on stellar.  We provide a brief 
description below.  Note that for the fifth problem set, students will take 
one region/country in the world, select an issue to examine, and use the 
regional economic theories, accounts, and techniques they have learned 
during the semester to examine the region in depth.  Ph.D and master's 
students, and occasionally an advanced undergraduate or postdoc take the 
class.


Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00-10:30 a.m.
First Class:   Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Room:          1-246
Credit Units: 3-0-9 H-LEVEL Grad Credit
Prerequisites: Introductory economics class or permission of professor

                                                              CLASS DESCRIPTION

In this class, we focus on alternative ways in which the issues of growth, 
restructuring, innovation, learning, and accounting and measurements can be 
examined in industrialized and emerging countries, covering the following.

We survey neoclassical as well as some of the latest theories of regional 
growth, factor mobility, clustering, agglomeration and dispersal economies, 
industrial and spatial networks, industrial and regional restructuring, 
globalization, supply chains, learning regions, and regional centers of 
innovation from a political-economy perspective.  For each, we cover the 
basic conceptual frameworks, main assumptions, and arguments for and 
against the use by scholars and practitioners.  We give special emphasis to 
recent transformations in regional economies throughout the world and to 
the implications these changes have for the theories and research methods 
used in spatial economic analyses.

We examine and evaluate critically the accounting frameworks used to 
measure regional economic growth and review multipliers, backward and 
forward linkages, supply chains, and other measures.  We discuss how these 
concepts can be used to assess employment and environmental impacts and 
infrastructure investments, accounting for measurement problems, such as 
the underground economy.  We review price indices, employment and 
industrial location measures, and shift-share analyses.   Note that we 
discuss U.S. and foreign applications of the theories, accounts, and 
techniques.

Students are expected to have had a thorough introduction to the relevant 
microeconomic, macroeconomic, and political economy theories prior to 
taking this class.  Half of the problem sets are short essays or literature 
reviews on specific regional theories, and the other half cover important 
quantitative techniques used in the regional planning field.

Readings will relate mainly to the United States, but we cover pertinent 
material on foreign countries in lectures.  In cases where other classes 
are available in our department that cover the material in more depth, such 
as project evaluation, benefit-cost analysis, urban economics, and 
municipal and public finance, we have either covered the topic only briefly 
here or omitted it entirely.  These are important areas of study, and 
students interested in specializing in regional and urban economics should 
take an entire class in 
them.

  Karen R. Polenske

ps  My first office hour (first-come, first-served) will be on Thursday 
10:30-12:00 (directly after the class) in my office Building 9, Room 
535.  Stop by if you have questions.  I will not be available to discuss 
the class in more detail until then.  You are welcome to communicate with 
the TA, Xiaodong Wang (xdwang at mit.edu), if you have any prior questions.

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Karen R. Polenske
Professor of Regional Political Economy and Planning
Head, International Development and Regional Planning (IDRP) Group
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology           Phone:  617-253-6881
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 9-535     Fax:    617-253-2654
Cambridge, MA. 02139 U.S.A.                     Email:  krp at mit.edu
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