We are living through a period of rapid economic change manifested in the globalization, neoliberalization, financialization and urbanization of economic activity, the emergence of new motor industries, rapidly occurring climate change and environmental destruction and increasing inequality at the national and international scales. This course shows how these processes are shaped by and shape the economic landscape, how a stretching of economic relations across the world implied by globalization simultaneously requires the investment of capital in particular places resulting in rapid urbanization, in nodes of economic activity from which those global flows of money, people and commodities are managed. The result of the myriad of decisions made by states, multi-national corporations, politicians, workers and consumers is a world characterized by geographically uneven economic development. Some countries, regions, cities benefit from those processes while others loose. Trying to explain uneven spatial development is one of the hallmarks of economic geographic research and in this course we will see what this means in the context of the real world economy.

The course is divided into three modules. Module 1 will provide the basic conceptual building blocks and definitions.  It explores why and how geography is relevant for economics and business, how changes in organizing our livelihoods affect spatial economic patterns and how those existing patterns shape future economic activity. Module 2 will focus on globalization, on what is new, why it does not only produce winners, why and how its impact varies across states and regions and finally, how China has become a key player in the global economy. In Module 3 we will examine more closely regional and urban success stories in the Global North: High-Tech industrial spaces, Creative Cities, Global Cities.

After completing this course students should be able to

• appreciate the relevance of a spatial approach to Economics
• realize how economic geographic research complements economic research
• comprehend why globalization does not lead to the end of geography
• get some grounding in contemporary issues in economic geography
• understand that markets and economy are always embedded in historically and geographically differentiated social, political and environmental relations
• learn how to read, interpret and critically discuss scientific journal articles related to the topics in modules 2 and 3

Students are required to attend 50% of all classes (lecture and discussion sessions). You have to attend all four of your discussion sessions and it is recommended that you come to all of the six lecture slots, but you have to attend at least 3 of those. Past experience demonstrates that attending lectures is related to a good grade on the course!

There are 108 points, of which 8 are bonus points:

• 4 in-class quizzes [max. 5 pts. each]: 20 pts. 
  • About the reading of the seminar
  • In weeks 3-6
• 4 group exercises [max. 5 pts. each]: 20 pts. 
  • based on the readings assigned for the discussion sessions
• Participation in seminar [max. 2 pts. per session]: 8 pts.
• Final exam: 60 pts.
  • Min. 30 pts. need to be reached to pass the course. 
  • Consists of a multiple choice section and open questions.
  • If you provide documentation proving that you cannot participate in the exam (e.g. doctor's note), or if you obtain more than 10%, but less than 50% of the possible score in your first exam attempt, you get the opportunity to take a second attempt at the end of the current semester. 
  • The exam takes place in the mid-term exam week on 10 May 2024. 

Quizzes and the exam are individual tasks, and the group assignment needs to be your own work. Cheating (e.g. copying from neighbours, using AI tools for group assignments, ...) will result in 0 pts being awarded. Repeated offenses are passed on the VR Lehre, risking a four month ban on exams and courses. 

Grading: 

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