Local Economic Development (2016/2017)

Learning outcomes

This course introduces the concepts of Local Economic and Community Development. The course has a multidisciplinary and holistic nature including the study of collective decision-making processes, institutional management, social development, the sustainable use of land and the environment, the functioning of labor and capital markets, and the distribution of resources among gender and generations at the local, regioanl, national and international community level. The course introduces students to the main theories of growth and economic and social development. It also describes the factor markets fostering the development process including also the relevance of public and environmental goods paying special attention to the smart governance of communities, the collective decision making mechanisms, and the sustainable management of land and the environment. Students will learn planning and impact evaluation tools based on the use of social Accounting Matrices augmented to account for information on the employment structure of each economic sector, the impact on environmental sustainability, migration and worker mobility. The course is also based on a wide range of case studies.

Community Economic Development Theory.
1. Defining Community Economic Development.
2. Growth Theory.
3. Space and Community Economics.
4. Concepts of Community Markets.
Community Factor Markets.
5. Land Markets.
6. Labor Markets.
7. Financial Capital Markets.
8. Technology and Innovation.
9. Nonmarket Goods and Services: Amenities.
10. Local Government and Public Goods.
Institutions and the Art of Community Economics.
11. Institutions and Society.
12. Policy Modeling and Decision-Making.
13. The Practice of Community Economic Development.
Tools of Community Economics.
14. Descriptive Tools of Community Economic Analysis.
15. Inferential Tools of Community Economic Analysis: fixed-Price Models.
16. Inferential Tools of Community Economic Analysis: Price: Endogenous Models.
17. Looking to the Future.

50% written exam, 30% exercises, 20% case studies