Economic Geography

This individual paper should be at least 2000 words (bibliography excluded) to fulfill the University of Florida’s Writing and Math Requirement. Appendices are not allowed. Use an easy-to-read font such as 12 point Times New Roman or 11 point Arial. Your manuscript can be single- or double-spaced. There is no need to include a title page or a table of contents.

Objective

The aim of this descriptive paper is to discuss the recent economic evolution of a region of your choice using a variety of statistical sources. Start by finding an interesting case study. The case study must a sub-national region, such as Florida, Greater Atlanta, or the Rocky Mountains, not a country. Then, go to Google Scholar and/or UF’s library and search for 3-5 recent publications that relate to your case study. Based on these publications, identify what the main challenge of your region is. This will help you formulate a short and explicit research question.

Structure

The paper should be structured as follows:

The introduction discusses what the main challenges of the region are. Depending on the region, you may want to focus on demographic decline, housing prices, the lack of infrastructure, suburbanization, etc. (10 points).
The methodology section discusses the sources of data used in the paper (5 points)
The empirical section presents your main findings using tables, graphs and maps (10 points + 5 points for own figures)
The conclusion explains why your findings are important, what are the limitations of your work and whether there is a need for more research (5 points);
The bibliography lists all the articles, books and sources of data used in the paper (5 points).

Citation style and plagiarism

When quoting a book or an article, make sure that the source is cited properly and that your paper is not plagiarized, wholly or in part. Feel free to use any referencing style you want (MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard etc.).

General statements must be presented as follows:

Cities tend to attract creative workers (Florida 2002).

Excerpts must be presented in quotation marks to show that a particular portion of your paper is from a different source. Include the name of the author, the date, and page numbers, as follows:

According to Glaeser (2011: 65), “national policy should strive to enrich and empower everybody”.

References must be placed at the end of the paper, not in footnotes, and sorted alphabetically:

Book: Fujita M, Krugman P, Venables A. 2000. The Spatial Economy. Cities, Regions and International Trade. Cambridge MA, The MIT Press.
Article: Boschma R, Coenen L, Frenken K, Truffer B. 2017. Towards a theory of regional diversification: combining insights from Evolutionary Economic Geography and Transition Studies. Regional Studies 51(1): 31-45.
Book chapter: Thrift N. 2008. Space: the fundamental stuff of human geography, in Clifford N, Holloway S, Rice SP, Valentine G. (eds). Key Concepts in Geography. Thousand Oaks, Sage: 85-96.
Electronic documents: Walther O, Kuépié M, Tenikue M. 2017. When social networks become a burden for African traders. Washington DC, The Brookings Institution, Africa in Focus Series, Jan 3, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2017/01/03/when-social-networks-become-a-burden-for-african-traders/
(Links to an external site.)
. Web links are subject to changes and are therefore not considered as references.