University of Washington
GEOGRAPHY  207:  Economic Geography
Summer 1999


Times and Places
Overview
Requirements
Grading
Schedule (includes links to day-by-day material)
Additional links (includes special website of links established by UW Libraries for this course)

TIMES  AND  PLACES
Lectures and Labs:  MTWThF 9:40 - 11:50 a.m., 107 Smith Hall (some meetings in 415 Smith Hall)
Office Hours:  Professor James W. Harrington, 303D Smith Hall, Mondays 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. (except Tuesday 6 July rather than Monday 5 July), and by appointment
Contact Information:  Professor James W. Harrington:  jwh@u.washington.edu;  tel. 206-616-3821;  fax 206-543-3313; http://faculty.washington.edu/jwh


OVERVIEW
Why are metropolitan areas organized the way they are?  How do businesses decide where to locate their operations?  How can we analyze the effect of business location on local areas?  This course serves as introduction to and survey of economic approaches (a) to the location and movement of people and of production, and (b) to the growth and change of sub-national regions.  The focus is on geographic concepts of economic rent as a function of accessibility, interaction of processes in specific places, and the positive and negative externalities of agglomeration (location of similar activities in close proximity). Basic economic principles are introduced along the way.  In addition to straightforward reading assignments, students will collect and analyze simple information about industries, local areas, and national economies.


REQUIREMENTS
The course requirements are lectures, exercises, tests, and occasional reading that will be distributed on-line or in class.  Tests will cover lectures, exercises, required reading, and on-line lecture notes.  There is no required textbook.  Students who would benefit from the additional explanations, examples, and graphic content of a textbook have their choice of three books, available at the University Bookstore and at the reserve desk of the undergraduate library:

     Peter Dicken.  1998.  Global Shift:  Transforming the World Economy (third edition).  New York:  The Guilford Press.
     Dean M. Hanink.  1997.  Principles and Applications of Economic Geography.  New York:  John Wiley & Sons.
     Frederick P. Stutz and Anthony R. de Souza.  1998.  The World Economy.  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Prentice Hall.

Note:  27 June is the last day for unrestricted dropping of Summer Term A courses; 11 July is the last day for any dropping of Summer Term A courses.


GRADING
Grades on tests and exercises.  Each test and exercise will be graded on a percentage basis.  The exercises will be graded primarily for (a) content:  clear indication that students understand the underlying principles, have mastered the basic mechanics of the technique, and can relate the mechanics to the principles.  In addition, (b) clarity of writing and (c) appropriateness of format matter in getting these points across.  Corrected exercises may be revised and resubmitted within one week of their return to the student, for additional credit.

Late assignments.  Tests must be taken on the scheduled day, except by prior arrangement with the instructor or ex post written communication with the instructor based on illness (in this latter circumstance, the instructor will need documentation of your illness or that of someone in your care;  this will be handled on a case-by-case basis).

Exercises are due by 5:00 Monday 19 July.  Exercises received by 5:00 Wednesday 21 July (last day of class) will be penalized by 15 percentage points (e.g., a late assignment that is judged to be 85% successful would receive 70% credit).  Exercises cannot be accepted after that.

Final grades.  The final grade for the course will be calculated as follows.  Each graded item (three tests, two exercises, and class/group participation) can contribute up to a specified number of points toward the course’s total that can equal up to 100 points.  Each student’s final grade reflects the number of these 100 points the student has earned during the quarter.
 

3 tests 70 points
2 exercises @ 10 points 20 points
Participation in class discussion and in groups 10 points
TOTAL 100 POINTS
Total scores (on a scale of 0 - 100) will translate into final grades (on a scale of 0.0 - 4.0) according to the following scale:
 
TOTAL  SCORE
FINAL  GRADE
90 - 100 3.5 - 4.0
75 - 89 2.5 - 3.4
60 - 74 1.5 - 2.4
51 - 59 0.7 - 1.4
0 - 50  0.0
Incomplete work. A grade of “I” (Incomplete) is given only when the student has been in attendance and has done satisfactory work and has furnished proof satisfactory to the instructor that the work cannot be completed because of illness or other circumstances beyond the student's control. To obtain credit for the course, an undergraduate student must convert an Incomplete into a passing grade no later than the last day of the next quarter. The student should never reregister for the course as a means of removing the Incomplete. An Incomplete grade not made up by the end of the next quarter is converted to the grade of 0.0 by the Registrar unless the instructor has indicated, when assigning the Incomplete grade, that a grade other than 0.0 should be recorded if the incomplete work is not completed. The original Incomplete grade is not removed from the permanent record.
 


SCHEDULE

BASIC  ECONOMIC  AND  GEOGRAPHIC  PRINCIPLES

ECONOMIC  LOCATION  BASED  ON   ACCESSIBILITY TRANSPORTATION  AND  INTERACTION INDUSTRIAL  LOCATION  AND  INTERNATIONAL  TRADE ECONOMIC  GROWTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT
revised 22 July 1999