Master In Tourism And Environmental Economics

The program for the Master and the PhD is characterized by its applied vocation. This is achieved by not only placing greater emphasis on applied subjects in the field of tourism and the environment but also by introducing subjects which, while initially have a more theoretical, descriptive or technical focus, turn out to have a content which is essential for carrying out an accurate economic analysis of tourism and environmental issues.

The course is made up of three independent modules:

- FIRST SEMESTER PROGRAM (30 ECTS)
- SECOND SEMESTER PROGRAM 30 ECTS
- THIRD SEMESTER PROGRAM 30 ECTS

FIRST SEMESTER PROGRAM 30 ECTS

Mathematics and Statistics focus to Economics (2 ECTS)

The aim of this course is to review some basic topics in statistical inference and econometrics, generally used in economics and to build on the students’ knowledge gained from their past courses in Mathematics, providing the mathematical basis to model and solve basic economical problems. Students will be equipped with the tools necessary to solve future problems that may appear in next courses.

Advanced Applied Microeconomics (4 ECTS)

Microeconomic theory is fundamental in the understanding of the behaviour of economic agents acting in some rational way, and it provides the foundation for many other specific areas of study within economics. The objective of the course is to cover some general principles underlying microeconomics theory. Issues to be covered are: the analysis of consumer behaviour, including the consideration of choice under uncertainty and intertemporal choice, as well as the study of welfare measures; the analysis of supply and the competitive equilibrium; and the causes for market failure, with an emphasis in externalities and public goods. In each instance, the objective is to relate theoretical aspects to particular applications in the fields of environmental and tourism economics.

Tourism Economics (4 ECTS)

Concepts, Theories and Methods of Tourism Economics applied to the differential traits of tourism with respect to other goods and services. Consumption and Demand foundations. Analysis of Tourism Supply in different Marked Structures. Income and Employment in Tourism Economies. International Trade, Balance of Payments and Tourism. Externalities, Public goods and Tourism.

Environmental Economics (4 ECTS)

Economy-environment interactions determine flows that make the environment interact with human production, consumption, and welfare. This course will describe the basic roles of the Environment and will set out the theories, arguments, and differences behind Environmental and Ecological Economics, two disciplines that differently approach the study of these interactions. Central questions of Environmental Economics on excessive production of pollution or insufficient protection of the natural world due to the lack of market mechanisms to allocate environmental commodities will be addressed. The economics of production and use of natural resources, both renewable and exhaustible will be also covered. The overview of natural resource economics will include the theory of the mine as a dynamic optimisation problem, Hotelling's rule, and the economics of the fishery or the forestry.

Tourism Development and Social and Cultural Impacts (4 ECTS)

This course will build knowledge on the sociocultural dimensions of tourism. It includes the understanding of the world the modern tourist lives in and the driving forces which motivate people to travel away from their place of residence, to other visit cultural environments.

The social and cultural impact of the host / guest interaction as well as the implementation of management strategies to avoid unwanted consequences are also issues that will be addressed during the course.

Tourism Demand: Micro-econometric Analysis (4 ECTS)

The aim of the course is to analyse the models of tourism demand. It will start with a general view of the theoretical models showing the alternatives of the empirical modelisation. The course will focus on the microeconomic analysis of the tourism demand and its related Micro-econometrics tools. Much attention will be paid to the treatment of the cross-section data for the analysis of individual preferences. At Micro-econometrics we will study the models of discrete choice and the panel data models.

In order to allow this kind of analysis we will explore the implementation of the demand variables and their measurement problems, the data collection and sampling techniques and the data processing.

Tourism Demand: Dynamic Modelling (4 ECTS)

The course has two main blocks. One theoretical, introducing the concepts and statistical tools, and another one practical. Unit roots, co-integration and the seasonality in tourism variables are studied in the first part of the course. In this second part, special attention is paid to:  (a) Tourism Demand models, including structural analysis and prediction; (b) Analysis of tourist surveys of tourism satisfaction, market trends and market segments using multivariate techniques; (c) Hedonic price analysis of tour operator prices.

Methodologies of Economic Valuation (4 ECTS)

A description of the reasons why it is necessary a monetary environmental valuation is made, introducing the concept of total economic value and its components, with special reference to the option and existence value. Concepts such as willingness to pay or willingness to accept are reviewed. Finally, the principal environmental valuation techniques are analyzed in depth, after presenting a classification of all techniques and briefly describing every one. Special emphasis is placed on Hedonic Price, Travel Cost Approach and Contingent Valuation.

SECOND SEMESTER PROGRAM 30 ECTS

Project Assessment (3.5 ECTS)

The aim of the course is to make the student familiar with the most common project assessment techniques. These include the Financial Evaluation Method, Multicriteria Evaluation, the Planning Balance Sheet, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and, especially, Cost Benefit Analysis. It is intended that after completing the course the student will be able to undertake a simple Cost-Benefit Analysis. Several related issues are to be covered, such as the identification, quantification and valuation of the relevant costs and benefits, the problems related to uncertainty and weight distributions, the discussion on the election of the social discount rate and on alternative selection criteria, and the performance of sensitivity analysis.

Environmental Policy Tools (3.5 ECTS)

The aim of the course is to illustrate the different regulatory instruments that, especially in a tourism market context, the public authorities can use to address tourism externalities and the optimal provision of public goods and bads. The choice of the appropriate way of arriving to this efficient outcome will be discussed. However, previously, to further complicate matters, the determination of the optimal congestion level should de address. Pros and cons of private negotiations as a means of achieving the efficient outcome, and role played by property rights will be explained. Public intervention can also induce to take desirable actions that will lead to the optimal level of congestion. Economic incentives (taxes, subsidies, marketable permits, liability, deposit - refund systems) and command and control regulation can be used by public authorities. Definitions, applicability, advantages and shortcomings of the different environmental regulation instruments will be discussed.

Advanced Applied Macroeconomics (4 ECTS)

Analysis of current macroeconomic issues selected according to their relevance. The aim is both to understand specific macroeconomic phenomena as well as to learn analytical tools useful for the analysis of the macroeconomic reality.

The course will focus on two macroeconomic issues with relevant relationships with tourism: unemployment and exchange rates.

Regarding unemployment, one of the reasons for tourism promotion has often been its capacity to generate employment. In this course the causes and characteristics of unemployment will be analysed from an advanced macroeconomic perspective.

As to exchange rates, the price of currencies is one of the main determinants of international tourism demand. The exchange rate is also one of the main policy variables for emerging markets with high tourism potential. The determinants of exchange rates as well as the exchange rate policy options will be revise. Our interest will also focus on recent exchange rate and balance of payment crisis.

International Trade, Tourism and Environment (4 ECTS)

Theoretical determinants of international tourism. Factors endowment theory. Factors endowment theory in international tourism. Factors endowment and environment in tourist economies. Comparative costs theory. The role of comparative costs in tourism. The competitiveness issue. Absolute advantage theory and technological development.

Business Oriented Tourism Analysis (3 ECTS)*

This course will improve students knowledge of advanced tools for business analytics in tourism. Learning by doing is a powerful concept and that is why we organize this course in the PC Lab. The empirical data sets and the training tasks originate from real-world cases. It depends on the students how much they may benefit from the course. The course heavily builds on the individual preparation of selected book chapters and articles, on the participation in classroom discussion, and on active group work.

Econometrics (4 ECTS)*

The course has two main blocks. One theoretical, introducing the concepts and statistical tools, and another one practical. Unit roots, cointegration and the seasonality in tourism variables are studied in the first part of the course. I the second part, special attention is paid to:  (a) Tourism Demand models, including structural analysis and prediction; (b) Analysis of tourist surveys of tourism satisfaction, market trends and market segments using multivariate techniques; (c) Hedonic price analysis of touroperator prices.

Tourism Policy (4ECTS)

Principles and Strategies of Tourism and Land Development. Space and Land Planning in Tourism Areas. Specific Tourism Policies with special attention to Tourism Land Development Planning and Human Capital Policy. Influence of Macroeconomic and Microeconomic Policies on Tourism. General and Specific Policies on Tourism and Land Development.

Modelling the Impact of Tourism on the Economy (4 ECTS)

Knowledge of the economic links and impacts of tourism. Direct, indirect and induced economic effects. How are tourism’s economic impacts measured?: Harmonized methodology for the measurement of physical and financial tourism flows. Tourism in the Balance of Payments. Input-Output model: Concepts and elements of I-O analysis; its methodology, application, merits and drawbacks. Tourism multipliers: What are tourism multipliers? How to calculate?; weakness and limits of multipliers. The CGE modeling; its application. A Tourism Satellite Account (TSA): What is a TSA?; difference between the TSA and other traditional methods of measuring the economic impacts of tourism.

Transportation Economics (4 ECTS)

Transport economics is a topic of interest to economists, civil engineers, urban planners, policy-makers, regulators and managers interested in tourism and environmental issues. This course in particular deals with the economic principles behind the organization of transport markets around the world. It will cover in turn both the supply and the demand side of transport activities. The major topics are organized around the production and costs of transport services, the main elements affecting the individuals' travel decisions, and how the firms' pricing strategies are used to accommodate these two elements. The course will also focus on regulatory issues regarding price and quality of transport services and infrastructures. The financing of transport infrastructures and the study of some externalities, such as congestion, pollution or the social costs of accidents, will also be covered.

*Students may choose one of these two courses

THIRD SEMESTER PROGRAM 30 ECTS

Research Foundation (4 ECTS)

This course will start by introducing the student to the scientific methods of research. A survey of primary social science research methods used to study and analyze problems in the hospitality and tourism industry. Topics such as formulation of research problems, statement of hypotheses, variables and their levels of measurement, research design, data collection techniques, sampling, data processing and information analysis are discussed and analyzed.

Tourism in Developing Countries (4ECTS)**

An examination of the special problems that are encountered by developing countries and small island nations in the process of tourism development. Issues such as socio-cultural impacts, economic leakages, over dependence on a single product, environmental degradation, and loss of political control are discussed and analyzed.

Growth, Tourism and Environment (3 ECTS)**

The course will explore two research fields:
Growth and the environment: this relationship can be analysed in a general setting where key issues like the "limits to growth" controversy, the Environmental Kuznets Curve, or the concept of sustainable growth can be explored.
Growth, tourism (and the environment): an analysis of the role of tourism specialization in the economic growth process. This analysis may be done both disregarding the environment and considering the two-way relationship between tourism and the environment as a possible constraint to long-term growth.

Seminars (6 ECTS)

End of Master Project (16 ECTS)

**Students may choose one of these two courses.

To complete the total amount of ECTS, the students who choose Business Oriented Tourism Analysis (3 ECTS) in the second semester must take Tourism in Developing Countries (4 ECTS) in the third semester