Econ 155 Urban Economics Syllabus: Fall 2013

Lectures: Monday-Wednesday 6:30-8:00pm, 100 GPB

Professor: Ted Egan
tedegan@berkeley.edu

Overview: Examination of the determinants of urban growth and decline. Topics covered will
include theory and evidence on sources of agglomeration economies and urban growth, systems
of cities, housing markets, local government, determinants of the spatial distribution of jobs, and place-
based policies.

Office Hours: Monday 5:006:00pm in Evans 675. Sign up on bSpace to reserve a 15-minute slot.

Required Textbook: Arthur OSullivan 2009. Urban Economics (8th edition) McGraw-
Hill.

Prerequisites: Intermediate microeconomics (100A or 101A) and basic econometrics.

Determination of grades: Grades will be determined based upon performance on two exams
and three homework assignments.
Midterm (30%): Wednesday, October 16
th
, in class.
Final (50%): December 20
th
, 3:00-6:00pm.
Homeworks (20%): Two exercises will be distributed online with printed due dates. No
late homeworks will be accepted. Homework must be done on your own with no outside
assistance or collaboration.

Grading policy: Grade disputes should be put in writing and emailed to me within one week of
receiving your grade. Two readers will grade each question, and your score will be an average of their
assessments. Because of this double-grading, disputes will be granted in unusual circumstances only,
such as when the reader grades are very different.

E-mail policy: E-mail messages should be kept to a minimum, and should only concern important
matters and clarifications that cannot be addressed by attending class regularly and by checking the
syllabus and bSpace. Given the size of the class, do not expect that all emails will be answered, so
please exercise your judgment. For example, emails that will not be answered are those asking: (a)
which material was covered in class; (b) questions that can be answered by reading the syllabus; (c)
emails requesting help in solving the homework. In general, we will also not answer individually
emails requesting generic help in solving the homework (such as how do I answer question X?). For
all other legitimate matters, we will be happy to help you in person during office hours.

Special Accommodations: If you need disability-related accommodations in this class, if you
have emergency medical information you wish to share with me, or if you need special
arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform me immediately. Please see
me privately after class.

Readings:
Below is an outline of the topics to be covered and when they will be covered in class. This list may
change throughout the semester, in which case an email notification will be sent through bSpace.


Week 1: Introduction
OSullivan Chapter 1

Weeks 2-3: Why Do Cities Exist?
OSullivan Chapters 2 & 3

Weeks 4-5 Distribution of City Sizes and Place Based Policies
OSullivan Chapters 4 & 5

Weeks 6-7: Land and Bid-Rent Curves
OSullivan Chapters 6 & 7

MIDTERM: October 16
th
in Class


Weeks 8-9 Housing
OSullivan Chapters 14 & 15

Week 10: Zoning
OSullivan Chapter 9

Weeks 11-12 Local Public Economics
OSullivan Chapters 16 & 17

Weeks 13-14 Transportation
OSullivan Chapters 10 & 11