AH2305 Spatial and Transport Economics 7.5 credits

• Fundamental principles of micro economics applied to transport issues.
• Competition and monopoly in transport markets.
• Regulation and deregulation in transport markets.
• Welfare effects of pricing and investment.
• Introduction to urban economics.
• Transport and land use in urban areas.
• Urban land and housing markets.
• Firm and retail location.
• Fundamental principles of normative facility location.

The content of the course is presented and exercised in lectures. In a minor project assignment the student will enhance her/his understanding of the material by analysing some relevant policy issue that will be presented orally and in writing. 

After the course, the student should be able to:

• Account for fundamental micro economic principles applicable to the analysis of transport policy issues.
• Apply these principles to a selection of policy issues.
• Identify and account for various market structures including monopoly markets.
• Account for regulation and deregulation in different transport markets.
• Account for welfare effects of pricing principles and investment.
• Explain the fundamental urban economics model and its implication for urban density and land rents.
• Explain some transport and land use models and discuss their usefulness and applicability.
• Describe principles for firm and retail location and account for their implications.
• Describe and apply basic principles of normative facility location.
• Search for relevant literature for some policy issue in spatial and transport economics and describe and discuss this issue orally and in writing

Single Course students:

At least 180 credits academic studies in Engineering, Economics or Planning and documented proficiency in English B or equivalent (TOEFL, IELTS  e g).

Programme Students:

AH2301 Transport Policy and Evaluation or equivalent.

The later part of P. S. McCarthy, 2001, Transportation Economics: Theory and Practice: a Case Study Approach, Blackwell Publishing.

Additional course literature will be announced at the course start.

If the course is discontinued, students may request to be examined during the following two academic years.

• PRO1 - Project Assignment, 2.5 credits, grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• TEN1 - Examination, 5.0 credits, grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

A mandatory written examination, TEN1, equivalent to 5 credits with grading scale A-F and a mandatory project assignment, PRO1, equivalent to 2.5 credits with grading scale A-F. The final grade of the course according to the grading scale A-F is detminded as the weithted average of TEN1 and PRO1.

Anders Karlström

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.