Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics
Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics at VU University Amsterdam
The MSc in Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics is unique in the Netherlands and internationally, because it offers an integrated view of spatial issues, transport and the environment from an economic perspective.
Renowned teaching staff
VU University Amsterdam’s Department of Spatial Economics boasts internationally renowned professors such as Peter Nijkamp (regional economics), Piet Rietveld (transport economics) and Erik Verhoef (transport economics). They all actively participate in the economic policy debate in the Netherlands and are often consulted on the implementation and evaluation of large-scale government initiatives.
Accessible supervision
The department is well-known for the intensive and accessible supervision it provides. This augments the faculty’s three study advisors, who can be consulted daily at set times and by appointment. In addition, experienced staff members are on hand to provide you with support and assistance during your practicals and when you are writing your thesis.
Direct policy feedback
Several members of our teaching staff have close contacts with economic policy-making in practice. Their experience as scientific researchers and policy advisors is fed back directly to the students in the programme’s various specializations.
The Master’s programme is built on input from the research programme in Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics: a fundamental research programme with a strong focus on practical implementation in policy. The spatial economics group is one of the world’s largest university-based research groups in its field.
Our teaching staff actively contribute to policy debates in the Netherlands and their expertise is regularly called upon to implement and evaluate public policy in their fields of specialization. One example is the Spitsmijden project, which studies the effects of rewarding travellers for not driving during the morning rush hour, a strategy which can result in better infrastructure utilization which enjoys greater public support than road pricing systems.
Research is a prominent feature of the programme. You will learn how to set up your own study and critically test the theories that form the basis for certain professions. You will graduate from the programme as a versatile economist, capable of independently solving the economic problems surrounding spatial, transport and environmental issues.
Build on our research programme
Experienc e policy -making in an educational setting The Master’s programme is built on input from the research programme in Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics, a fundamental research programme with a strong focus on practical implementation in policy. The department is home to one of the world’s largest university-based research groups in spatial economics. Our teaching staff actively contributes to policy debates in the Netherlands and their expertise is regularly called upon to implement and evaluate public policy in their fields of specialization.
This high quality one-year programme offers you the knowledge to tackle complex problems at a high level of abstraction, keeping in mind the need to translate abstract solutions into clear-cut policy advice. It is designed for the professional economist with an interest in spatial, transport or environmental economics. It is firmly grounded in economics but enables you to establish a relatively strong multidisciplinary orientation. The programme addresses highly relevant and closely interrelated policy issues in today’s modern societies, such as regional development, urban problems, transport policies and environmental degradation. As such, it is concerned with virtually every aspect of society, in which space, distance and networks are critical issues.
You will learn how to take a structured approach in applying economic techniques to practical problems. Using economic models, you will analyse spatial, transport and environmental problems such as segregation, traffic congestion and environmental pollution. You will learn to tackle these problems at a high level of abstraction, assessing the pros and cons of different solutions and formulating your own alternatives.
