TRANSPORT ECONOMICS & INNOVATION
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Bibliography
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
Good knowledge of microeconomics fundamentals.
The final evaluation is composed by two elements: a) written examination; b) student individual work and class participation.
a) The written examination is structured in three open questions. It is possible to held it in two steps (in the middle on the first part of the programme and at the end of the course on the second part) or in one step on the whole programme in the exam sessions. Only students that have achieved a positive mark (minimum 18/30) in the middle exam can access to final exam; the final mark will be the average between the marks of the middle and final exams.
b) Students attending class are invited to choose a paper to be presented and discussed in class-room and to discuss the papers of the other students. This individual work and the class participation are evaluated with a mark on a range 18-30.
The final grade is a weighted average of the written exam mark (80%) and the individual work and class participation mark (20%).
The course will provide students with a solid grounding in the economics of the
transportation sector, covering the key principles governing transportation planning, investment and regulation.
Students should obtain basic skills in the analysis of travel demand and supply and of transportation system benefits. Students should also be able to understand the different internal and external components of transport costs, the basic pricing principles, the technological innovations and how these factors affect the market for transportation infrastructure and services and, consequently, the other industries. Finally, students should be able to apply these concepts to analyse transportation investment decisions and public regulation policies.
Main course objectives:
- Understanding of the importance of transport for the economic development
- Understanding of special issues related to transport industries
- Provide theoretical and methodological basis to understand issues related to mobility in the globalization process and to firm innovation strategies
- Apply economic knowledge to specific transport and mobility problem.
Introduction to transport economics: contribution of transport services and infrastructure to economic development and globalisation, different transport modes and markets, the main economic characteristics of transport
The demand for transport: factors influencing the demand for transport services (price, trip purpose, income levels, etc.) and the derived freight transport demand
The transport supply and direct costs: elements of firm economic theory applied to transport services, fixed and variables costs, economics of scale, scope and density, the notion of generalised costs, economics efficiency, etc.
Pricing of Transport Services: marginal cost pricing, price differentiation and discrimination, the peak problem
Transport and sustainable development: the external costs of transport, the economic cost of congestion, policies for transport sustainability
Transport and logistics: the adoption of transport economic principles within a larger supply-chain concept
Transport infrastructure and economic development: the importance of infrastructure, private and public investments, transport planning
Regulation of transport markets: theory of market regulation applied to transport industries
Innovation and transport: physical and virtual networks, infomobility, technological changes in transport and contribution of transport and logistics to firm innovation process
Main book: Button K., Transport Economics, 3rd edition, Edward Elgar, 2010.
Other recommended books:
Quinet E., Vickerman R., Principles of Transport Economics, Edward Elgar, 2004
Button K., Vega H., Nijkamp P., A Dictionary of Transport Analysis, Edward Elgar, 2010.
The reading material, the slides and other teaching material will be available on the web learning platform (http://elearning3.uninsubria.it/).
In-class lectures and seminars.
Office hours
One hour a week. Please control the lecturer home-page http://www4.uninsubria.it/on-line/home/rubrica/home-page-docente.html?P1...