M.Sc. in Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics: Environmental Economics

Curriculum

You apply for the one-year master Spatial, Transport, and Environmental Economics. Later that year you may specialize in one or a combination of the following fields:

Urban and Regional Economics

This specialization is about the good (e.g. high wages) and the bad (e.g. high crime) of cities and regions. For example, why are some cities thriving, while others struggle? What types of firms and people cluster in space, and why? What does economic theory teach us about policy challenges that metropolitan areas face, such as crime, social segregation, housing affordability, traffic congestion and environmental pollution? How can you use and further develop techniques, methods and tools in this field?

Transport Economics

What are the causes and consequences of a growing demand for mobility from a microeconomic perspective? How can we address problems such as congestion, reliability, safety, and environmental externalities? For example, what are the implications of market power in network markets such as aviation and public transport, and how should we address these in transport policy? How should cars be optimally taxed? Is there a way to stimulate drivers to avoid peak hours, in order to take the pressure off the roads? Does Uber increase or decrease the use of public transport?

Environmental Economics

What are the economic aspects of environmental problems and policy? How can you combine scientific and policy expertise? How can you address the need to integrate economics with insights from other disciplines, notably the environmental sciences? For example, to what extent are environmental taxes too low, and why? Why would countries want to join the Kyoto Protocol or the Sofia Protocol? What role could trade sanctions play herein?

Real Estate Economics and Finance

How do real estate markets function? More specifically, how does price determination work in these markets, and how are portfolios managed? What is the impact of land use regulation, transport infrastructure, and public policy on real estate price dynamics? What is the relationship between real estate and its location?

The start date of this programme is September 1st.

Which specialisation do you choose?

Find out what the different possibilities are within the master's programme

Environmental Economics

Summary

This master’s programme focuses on the economic dimensions of local, regional, and global environmental issues, the use and depletion of natural resources, and the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. These questions are important both for the sustainability of our current living standards and for fighting the devastating effects of global warming. The programme discusses why government policy has not yet been able to deal with the environmental quality, natural resource dependence and climate change effectively. Some examples of fundamental questions that we address are: What is a socially optimal exploitation strategy for renewable resources (such as forestry and fishery), and non-renewable resources (such as fossil fuels)? How does this differ from a free-market strategy? Why are resource-rich countries often so poor? How can sub-optimal policies worsen the problem of climate change, leading to a so-called lead ‘Green Paradox’?

The master's programme equips the students with the state-of-the-art of academic economic insights to analyse and answer such questions and provide them with an evidence-based foundation.

In the courses, we take a microeconomic perspective and apply state-of-the-art econometric techniques. Hence, this high-quality one-year programme offers students the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to tackle complex problems at a high level of abstraction, while emphasizing the need to translate theoretical solutions and empirical evidence into clear-cut policy advice. You will learn techniques to measure the costs and benefits of pollution and carbon dependence, including how society values the environment and the uncertain future, issues of taxation, international trade and the design of international environmental agreements such as the Paris Accord. These techniques include theoretic measures, as well as stated preference and ‘revealed preference’ methods to value environmental changes and simple mathematical models of natural resource management and environmental policies. The incentives and macro-economic pitfalls for hydrocarbon producing countries will also be discussed. Economic models will be substantiated by teaching the latest empirical findings in economic literature.

Real Estate Economics and Finance

Summary

On average, households in the Netherlands spend no less than about 30% of their income on real estate. Also, the prices of commercial properties are sky-high. Real estate prices heavily fluctuate, over both time and space. Prices in Amsterdam are, for example, many multiples above real estate prices in more peripheral areas.

How do real estate markets function? This is the main theme that the Real Estate specialization addresses. More specifically, how does price determination work in these markets, and how are portfolios managed? What is the impact of land use regulation, transport infrastructure, and public policy on real estate price dynamics? What is the relationship between real estate and its location? In the Real Estate specialization, you acquire the theoretical and empirical knowledge to answer all these questions.

This specialization trains you to become a real estate professional, for which there is high demand in the industry. The specialization is embedded in the master Spatial, Transport & Environmental Economics. In this master, students develop the skills to analyse large (spatial) datasets. Although real estate markets have become global, there are major differences between local real estate markets. A thorough understanding of real estate dynamics, therefore, requires an integrative view from both a financial, economic and spatial perspective. The interrelationship of the Real Estate specialization with the Urban & Regional Economics and/or Transport economics specialization offers you this unique possibility.

Transport Economics

Summary

This specialization focuses on the economic dimensions of transport, traffic, mobility and accessibility. Some examples of fundamental questions that we address: how can we address pressing societal challenges such as congestion, and the associated pressure on urban environmental quality? How can we maintain the accessibility of regions and cities, and meet global environmental pressure from transportation? What are the spatial and economic aspects of these challenges? How can we analyze them from an economic perspective, and how can economics help in analyzing, evaluating and formulating policies to address these?

The master's programme equips students with the state-of-the-art of academic economic insights to analyse and answer such questions and provide them with an evidence-based foundation.

In the courses, we take a microeconomic perspective and use applied econometric techniques. Hence, this high-quality one-year programme offers students the theoretical knowledge and applied methodological skills to tackle complex problems at a high level of abstraction, while emphasizing the need to translate theoretical solutions into clear-cut evidence-based policy advice.

Urban and Regional Economics

Summary

This specialization focuses on the economic dimension of regions, urban areas and real estate. Some examples of fundamental questions that we address: why and where do which types of people and firms increasingly want to cluster in space? Why do some cities thrive, while others struggle? What does economic theory teach us about policy challenges that metropolitan areas face, such as crime, segregation, traffic congestion and environmental pollution? How is the growth and decline of cities impacting the building stock? What are the consequences of spatial planning for a region's development potential? What are the costs and benefits of constructing ‘green’ buildings?

The master's programme equips the students with the state-of-the-art of academic insights to analyze these and related policy questions and provide them with an evidence-based foundation.

In the courses, we take a microeconomic perspective and use applied econometric techniques. Hence, this high-quality one-year programme offers students the theoretical knowledge and applied methodological skills to tackle complex problems at a high level of abstraction, while emphasizing the need to translate theoretical solutions into clear-cut evidence-based policy advice.

What does the year look like?

First semester

This time period provides you with a thorough knowledge of the fundamentals of economic theory and research methods. After 6 weeks, you select at least four core and/or optional courses, two of which to be followed in the first semester. The programme offers you the possibility to specialize in various combinations of urban and regional, transport, environmental, and real estate economics. The first semester is concluded with a research project, during which you write a literature review of a coherent set of academic papers.

Second semester

In the second semester, you continue taking core and/or optional courses. The lion’s share of the second semester is devoted to writing a Master’s thesis. You write your thesis individually while participating in a thesis seminar, in which students present and discuss their research findings. Although an internship is not obligatory, you may combine your thesis with an internship. Our teaching staff can help you find a suitable place.