Master in Tourism and Environmental Economics

CURRICULUM (60 ECTS)


MODULE A:

QUANTITATIVE METHODS AND FUNDAMENTALS OF ANALYSIS FOR THE ECONMY OF TOURISM AND THE ENVIRONMENT (10 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 Theory Economic (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, 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.

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.


MODULE B:

TOURISM ECONOMICS (20 ECTS)


Tourism Economics (3 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.

Tourism demand 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.

Business Oriented Tourism Analysis (3 ECTS)

This course is designed to increase students knowledge about the real-world hospitality and tourism businesses. In addition to introducing and discussing selected case studies from Spain and elsewhere, several international tourism leaders will be invited to present and discuss their operations in four-hour blocks of time in class. Some of these successful individuals are located right here in Mallorca and Spain, but others from Europe and elsewhere will be brought on campus, for direct interaction. Students are expected to back what is presented in class to them with readings on or in relation to the subject of speaker.

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

The importance of tourism to economies is now well recognised. As a result, when tourism changes or policy shifts are being considered, there is an interest in determining what impact on the economy they might have. Techniques such as input-output analysis and social accounting matrix analysis are very commonly used to make estimates of the economic impact of changes in tourism expenditure. Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSAs) measures the contribution of tourism to the economy. Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models go much further than the previous models and are now extensively used to estimate economics impacts of a wide variety of changes and policies.

Tourism Policy (3ECTS)

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.

International Trade, Growth and Tourism (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.


MODULE C:

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS ( 15 ECTS)

Environmental Economics (3 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.

Project Assessment (4 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.

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.

Environmental Policy Tools (4 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.


MODULE D:

OPTIONAL SUBJECTS

Tourism Development and Social and Cultural Impacts (2 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.

Transportation Economics (2 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.

Tourism in Developing Countries (2 ECTS)

Travel and tourism industry is an export activity that can bring significant contributions to the Poor's welfare and to the transformation of developing countries. The diversity of the poor countries in the world is much wider and sharper than that of the rich countries in terms of social, geographic and institutional heterogeneity. This course will provide a selective benchmark to capture the broad contours of this diversity of the development experience and will be illustrative on how tourism can improve or deteriorate many of the problems that individuals, households and countries face in the developing world.


MODULE E: END OF MASTER PROJECT (10ECTS)