Economic geography

The aim of the course is to provide students with a general overview of the basic concepts of Economic Geography (globalization, economic development, and growth, how power controls resources, borders, and territories, border effects, the resurgence of protectionism and economic consequences of the political use of territory and space, fight against poverty, why some counties remain poor, and sustainable development). Taking into account both the historical evolution and the general principles of economic and political theory and their approaches, studied in a critical key, the course explains how the interrelationships between the variable economic structures and forms of political organization have shaped the geographies of human societies and vice versa. It also aspires to provide adequate skills to read the interactions between geography, economics, and politics, with the aim to decipher the complexity of the contemporary world and develop, within the limits of the social sciences, embryonic predictive abilities.

By the end of the course, the student will have acquired the basic knowledge to understand the fundamental concepts of Economic Geography and the utility of this subject in analysing economic factors of (sustainable) development and underdevelopment, economic growth, and key economic issues depending on geographical factors in the context of globalization. Ability to understand, critically analyse and explain - applying the theoretical tools and knowledge acquired - the most relevant global phenomena readable through the lens of Economic Geography and especially to identify different policy options for overcoming poverty, wrong political decisions, and political factors involved in underdevelopment.