The Regional and Urban Planning Laboratory studies on how to improve regional social systems through social
infrastructure and public policies.
Its main subjects are travel demand forecasting, urban structure analysis, economic evaluation of infrastructure improvement projects, analysis of public policies and institutional design for social systems.
We analyze social infrastructure, urban and environmental problems both qualitatively and quantitatively, by using applied economics such as welfare economics, public economics and econometrics.
Examples of our studies are the establishment of the benefit measure
method and investment rules for social infrastructure projects such as
transportation, disaster prevention and other public facilities, optimal urban
policies such as road pricing and zoning, the examination of optimal policies
for environmental problems such as global warning, local pollutions and
anti-natural disaster prevention projects, the appropriate definition of the
benefits globally applicable to all the public policies, examination of public
policies considering agglomeration economics, optimal management policies for
social infrastructure projects, and institutional design for efficient public
investment.
Graduation Theses (last 3 years)
- 2005
- Endogenous Economic Growth with Rivalness and Depreciation of Public Capital (KUWAJIMA, Ujinao)
- 2006
- Rational Herds caused by Information Externality in Disaster Evacuation Process (YAMADA, Masakazu)
- 2007
- Theoretical Speculation on the Role of Regional Policy Proposal System (KUNIEDA, Maki)
- Welfare Analysis of International Transportaion Infrastructure Improvement Aid in a Multilateral World (NIHEI, Hiroshi)
Master Theses (last 3 years)
- 2005
- Optimal Investment Strategy for Public-Private Partnership Projects under Asymmetric Information ; (HARA, Sadahiko)
- 2007
- Leapfrog Development in an Open City (KUWAJIMA, Ujinao)
