University of Washington
GEOGRAPHY  207:  Economic Geography
Spring 2000
Overview
When, Where, and Who
Requirements
Grading
Schedule (with links to notes)

OVERVIEW
What's the economic logic behind the patterns of land use in a North American city?
Why do some regions grow faster than others?
What influences the location of the primary market of a retail store?
What economic and political considerations influence what countries export what to whom?
This course is an introduction to and overview of economic geography:  patterns, trends, and theories of the geographic arrangement and interaction of economic resources, activities, and institutions.  The intra-urban, interregional, and international scales are covered.  Given this broad sweep of material, the course is relevant to students pursuing studies in geography, economics, planning, business, and regional studies.


TIMES  AND  PLACES
Lectures:  MTWF 9:30 - 10:20 a.m., 205 Smith Hall
Sections:  AA meets Thursdays 8:30 - 9:20 a.m., 404 Smith Hall;  AB meets Thursdays 9:30 - 10:20 a.m., 201 Gowen Hall;  AC meets Thursdays 11:30 - 12:20, 116 More Hall.
Office Hours:
Professor James W. Harrington, 303D Smith Hall, Mondays 10:30 - 11:30 and 4:00 - 5:00;  and by appointment
Nick Velluzzi, 417 Smith Hall, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9:30 - 10:20, and by appointment
Contact Information:
Professor James W. Harrington:  e-mail jwh@u.washington.edu;  tel. 206-616-3821;  fax 206-543-3313; http://faculty.washington.edu/jwh
Nick Velluzzi: e-mail  nvelluzz@u.washington.edu;  fax 206-543-3313


REQUIREMENTS
The course format entails four lectures and one exercise/review section each week, ungraded weekly review questions, four graded exercises, and four 50-minute tests.  Two of the exercises are in the form of two-page examples of concepts or principles studied in class, resulting from each student's empirical investigation.  Short, required readings will occasionally be distributed or linked to the appropriate date in the on-line syllabus (URL above).  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:


GRADING
Grades on tests and assignments.  Each test and assignment 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 to be brought to class on the specified day.  An exercise can be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the next day without penalty.  An exercise received by 5:00 p.m. a week later (7 days after the due date on the schedule below) will be penalized by 15 percentage points (e.g., a 5-day-late assignment that is judged to be 85% successful would receive 70% credit).  Exercises received more than 7 days late will be penalized by 50 percentage points.  Because of the deadlines for grading, the instructors cannot accept any material after noon Wednesday 7 June.

Final grades.  The final grade for the course will be calculated as follows.  Each graded item (four tests and four exercises) can contribute up to a specified number of points toward the quarter’s total.  Each student’s final grade reflects the number of the 100 possible points the student has earned during the quarter.

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: Withdrawal.  The University's rules for dropping courses are quite strict.  According to the University's course-registration web site, 9 April is the last day for unrestricted dropping of a Spring course (with a $20 fee).  Only one course per year can be dropped after that 14-day period.

Incomplete work. A grade of “I” (Incomplete) is given only when the student has been in attendance and has done satisfactory work until within two weeks of the end of the quarter 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
For each day, relevant notes and (at times) readings will be linked electronically to the date in the on-line syllabus, and helpful reading from the textbooks will be noted.

Monday 27 March
Introduction

Tuesday 28 March
Economics, Geography and Economic Geography
Stutz & deSouza:  33-39;  41-45

Wednesday 29 March - Friday 31 March
Introduction to Economic Relationships (macro and micro)
material will be distributed in class:  link to supplemental notes on microeconomic relationships
WEEKLY  REVIEW  SHEET for Thursday sections

Monday - Tuesday 3 - 4 April
The Market for Land:  Modeling Agricultural Location
Hanink:  29-48
Stutz & deSouza:  261-269

Wednesday 5 April
Library Resources for Student Examples
DESCRIPTION  OF  THIS  EXERCISE

Thursday - Friday 6 - 7 April
NO  CLASS  OR  SECTION  MEETINGS

Monday - Wednesday 10 - 12 April
The Market for Land:  Modeling Urban Location
Seattle Times articles on managing urban sprawl (part 1);  (part 2)
Brookings Institution Policy Brief on urban form
Hanink:  49-62
Stutz & deSouza:  Chapter 6

Thursday 13 April
Review for first test  (see REVIEW  SHEET)

Friday 14 April
First test

Monday - Tuesday 17 - 18 April
Spatial Interaction
Hanink:  202-210
Stutz & deSouza:  182-189; 310-311

Wednesday - Friday 19 - 21 April
Transportation
Hanink:  193-201;  211-223
Stutz & deSouza:  164-181

Thursday 20 April
WEEKLY REVIEW SHEET

Monday - Tuesday 24 - 25 April
Transportation and Communication Policy
Hanink:  Ch. 6
Stutz & deSouza:  190-203

Wednesday - Friday 26 - 28 April
Retail Analysis
Hanink:  273-282;  288-299
Stutz & deSouza:  182-184;  310-311

Thursday 27 April
Exercise 1 (first written example) due
Exercise 2:  AA & AB meet in 415 Smith;  AC meets in 135 Savery
WEEKLY  REVIEW  SHEET

Monday 1 May
Economic Uses of GIS;  review

Tuesday 2 May
Second test

Wednesday - Friday 3 - 5 May
Industrial Location
Hanink:  p. 12 and Chapter 7
Stutz & deSouza:  pp. 343-368;  383-388
note that Stutz & deSouza Ch. 9 and the Peter Dicken book contain much potentially useful information for the second "example" exercise
given that we're just beginning a new unit, I won't produce a review sheet this week...

Monday 8 May
Scale issues in industrial location;  Why Cities?
Hanink:  119-122;  311-318
Stutz & deSouza:  273-280;  343-361

Tuesday 9 May
Central Place Theory
Hanink:  247-250;  283-288
Stutz & deSouza:  307-335

Wednesday - Monday 10 - 15 May
Regional Economic Growth
Hanink:  311-314;  322-332
see three Seattle Times articles on Boeing's announcement of production cutbacks , the resultant impact on the regional economy , and debates about the use of economic multipliers

Thursday 11 May
Retail exercise due Thursday 11 May
Exercise 3:  AA & AB meet in 415 Smith;  AC meets in 135 Savery
WEEKLY  REVIEW  SHEET

Tuesday 16 May
Third test

Wednesday 17 May
Natural and Human Resources
Hanink:  Ch. 5 and Ch. 12
Stutz & deSouza:  pp.58-62;  109-142

Thursday 18 May
Location, Trade, and Regional Growth in the REI(L) World  (see links to Seattle P-I and Seattle Times articles)

Friday - Tuesday 19 - 23 May
International Trade Theory  see additional material on multinational corporations and international implications of trade
Hanink:  pp.341-363
Stutz & deSouza:  pp.428-431;  436-437
note that Stutz & deSouza Ch. 11 and the Peter Dicken book contain much potentially useful information for the second "example" exercise

Wednesday 24 May
International Trade Policy
Hanink:  pp.363-391
Stutz & deSouza:  pp.454-460
(link to International Monetary Fund's interpretation of the East Asian financial crisis)

Thursday 25 May
Additional Perspectives on Trade and Trade Policy
Economic-base exercise (Exercise 3) due
REVIEW  SHEET

Friday - Thursday 26 May - 1 June
Economic Development
Hanink:  Ch.11
Stutz & deSouza:  pp.416-417;  528-534;  537-538;  548-550
Exercise 4 (second written example) due Thursday 1 June

Monday 29 May
No class meeting:  Harrington's office hours this week are Wed 10:30 - 11:30 and 4:00 - 6:00

Final REVIEW  SHEET

Friday 2 June
Fourth test
 

copyright James W. Harrington, Jr.
revised 6 September 2000