2025 (Current Year) Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Undergraduate major in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Public Economics
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Yuki Takayama
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 3-4 Fri
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- CVE.D311
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2025
- Offered quarter
- 2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 19, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
To study fundamentals and applications of economic theories (e.g. microeconomics, transport economics and game theory) utilized for analyzing and evaluating infrastructure development.
Course description and aims
Studying fundamental ways of economic thinking about infrastructure projects such as: (1) Microeconomic theory on costs and prices; (2) Economic evaluation method of infrastructure projects; (3) Economic analysis of transport policies.
Keywords
Economics, Microeconomics, Transportation and Urban Economics, Public Economics, Market Failure, Externality, Economic Policy
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
The course will cover the fundamental theories of economics through lectures and deepen the understanding of the content through report assignments.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Demand and supply | - Demand function and supply function - Equilibrium |
| Class 2 | Foundations of consumer behavior theory | - Consumption possible frontier (budget constraint) - Preference, utility, indifference curve, marginal rate of substitution - Choice (utility maximization) - Demand function, price/income elasticities - Consumer surplus and benefit calculation - Duality |
| Class 3 | Foundations of producer/firm behavior theory | - Variable input, Fixed input, diminishing marginal productivity - Short term, Long term/Average, Marginal costs - Variable/Fixed Costs - Cost Minimization Problem and Cost Function - Production Technology - Profit Maximization and Production Function - Producer Surplus - Variable/Fixed Cost Functions |
| Class 4 | Theory of market | - Law of Single Price - Price Taker and Price Maker - Market Equilibrium - Excess Demand/Supply - Partial/General Equilibrium - Consumer/Producer/Social Surplus - The 1st Theorem of Welfare Economics - Monopoly and Law of decreasing Marginal Cost, Oligopoly |
| Class 5 | Market failure and its correction: Monopoly and externality | - Monopoly - Externality - Congestion charging |
| Class 6 | Market failure and its correction: Public goods | - Public goods |
| Class 7 | Applied economics | - Urban economics - Transportation economics - Definition and measurement of economic benefit |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Particularly not. Handouts will be uploaded to T2SCHOLA.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
The followings are all study-aid books.
- Takeuchi (2008) Introduction to transportation economics, Yuhikaku.
- Yamauchi & Takeuchi (2002) Transportation economics, Yuhikaku.
- Hatta (2009) Introduction to Microeconomics 1 & 2, Toyokeizai.
- Fujii (2010) Public works saving Japan, Bunshun.
- Campbell, D.E. "Incentives: Motivation and the Economics of Information (2nd Ed.)" Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Report (100%)
Related courses
- CVE.D201 ： Infrastructure Planning
- CVE.D301 ： Traffic and Transportation Systems
- CVE.D317 ： Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation
- CVE.D405 ： Transportation Science and Simulation
- UDE.P403 ： Urban Planning
- UDE.P404 ： City/Transport Planning and the Environment
- CVE.D406 ： Urban Economic Analysis
Prerequisites
It is recommend to take "CVE.D201 ：Infrastructure Planning" and "CVE.D301 ： Traffic and Transportation Systems" in advance.
Contact information (e-mail and phone) Notice : Please replace from ”[at]” to ”@”(half-width character).
Email: takayama.y.cc65[at]m.isct.ac.jp