Brief Course Description
1. Course Title:
Urban Economics
2. Language of Instruction:
Tiếng Việt
3. Course Code:
ECO501055
4. Credits:
3
5. Course Objectives:
This course aims to introduce students to urban economics, covering topics such as why cities exist, how urban spatial structure is determined, what causes urban sprawl and congestion, how housing markets and policies work.
6. Brief Description of Course Content:
Urban economics is a branch of economics which stemmed from microeconomics in the 1940s and combined knowledge in this field and geography. This branch of economics addresses the issue of urbanization and formation of cities based on the theory of agglomeration and individual’s housing location decision. By understanding that underlying mechanism, one can explore other prominent issues often tied to urban development such as transportation, housing, and employment.
There might exist a misunderstanding of the notion of urban economics, a number of people likened it to economic activities in an urban context. This misunderstanding or interpretation of urban economics has been somewhat common in Vietnam as the Vietnamese language does not distinguish economics from economy. Another reason for that interpretation might have originated from conservative Chinese scholars in their translated work available in Vietnam during the 1990s.