or
Continue with FacebookLooking to list your PhD opportunities? Log in here.
This project is no longer listed on FindAPhD.com and may not be available.
Click here to search FindAPhD.com for PhD studentship opportunities
Dr D Arribas-Bel
Prof Robert Elliott
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Many of the great challenges of the 21st Century are closely connected to cities and the risks
associated with a changing climate and a range of geo-hazards from extreme weather such as
typhoons and floods to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and rising sea levels. As the process of
urbanization leads to an even larger percentage of the population inhabiting urban areas and the
continued agglomeration of economic activity and firms in cities, obtaining a clear understanding
of how cities work and how they are able to adapt to current and future environmental and geohazard
risk is crucial. Insight into what makes cities in developing countries successful places for
innovation and economic development in a riskier world is not only relevant for scientific
purposes but also has clear policy implications: good interventions can only be designed based on
detailed knowledge of the underlying geographical, economic and social mechanisms.
This project will combine aspects of the economic and geography literatures to ask fundamental
questions that underlie the process of urbanization coupled with an understanding of how these
processes impact the vulnerability and resilience of households, firms, cities and countries.
Questions include: What are the main forces behind the growth in urban density? What role does
spatial structure play in the economic outcomes of cities? What are the economic and
environmental implications of different spatial configurations of activity? How can cities be
designed to withstand changes in climate, pollution and extreme weather events? How does
urbanization affect energy efficiency and communication and transport costs? To answer these
questions the project will be primarily empirical in nature and will make use of novel sources of
Big Data and modern tools of quantitative geography and applied econometrics to obtain
exogenous sources of variation that allow causal interpretations. In this context, the research
design will include for example, quasi-natural experiments, propensity score matching, (spatial)
differences in differences, or advanced spatial statistics and econometrics.
After becoming the majority at some point in 2008, the world’s urban population is expected to
increase throughout the century. Most of this growth will occur in the cities of the developing
world, a majority of which are found in locations that are at high risk of geo-hazards. To account
for this, and achieve the maximum academic and policy impact possible, the project will focus the
empirical analysis on the urban system of a developing country or region.
associated with a changing climate and a range of geo-hazards from extreme weather such as
typhoons and floods to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and rising sea levels. As the process of
urbanization leads to an even larger percentage of the population inhabiting urban areas and the
continued agglomeration of economic activity and firms in cities, obtaining a clear understanding
of how cities work and how they are able to adapt to current and future environmental and geohazard
risk is crucial. Insight into what makes cities in developing countries successful places for
innovation and economic development in a riskier world is not only relevant for scientific
purposes but also has clear policy implications: good interventions can only be designed based on
detailed knowledge of the underlying geographical, economic and social mechanisms.
This project will combine aspects of the economic and geography literatures to ask fundamental
questions that underlie the process of urbanization coupled with an understanding of how these
processes impact the vulnerability and resilience of households, firms, cities and countries.
Questions include: What are the main forces behind the growth in urban density? What role does
spatial structure play in the economic outcomes of cities? What are the economic and
environmental implications of different spatial configurations of activity? How can cities be
designed to withstand changes in climate, pollution and extreme weather events? How does
urbanization affect energy efficiency and communication and transport costs? To answer these
questions the project will be primarily empirical in nature and will make use of novel sources of
Big Data and modern tools of quantitative geography and applied econometrics to obtain
exogenous sources of variation that allow causal interpretations. In this context, the research
design will include for example, quasi-natural experiments, propensity score matching, (spatial)
differences in differences, or advanced spatial statistics and econometrics.
After becoming the majority at some point in 2008, the world’s urban population is expected to
increase throughout the century. Most of this growth will occur in the cities of the developing
world, a majority of which are found in locations that are at high risk of geo-hazards. To account
for this, and achieve the maximum academic and policy impact possible, the project will focus the
empirical analysis on the urban system of a developing country or region.
Funding Notes
Fully funded NERC-ESRC studentship
Open Days
Project supervisors
Dr D Arribas-Bel's profile is coming soon
View other supervisors at University of BirminghamCareer overview
Professor Robert Elliott is an applied economist at the University of Birmingham''s Business School, where he serves as the Director of Research in the Department of Economics. He obtained a BA and MA in Economics from the Universities of Leicester and Essex, respectively, and completed his PhD at the University of Nottingham under the supervision of Professor David Greenaway, Dr Peter Wright, and Robert Hine. Since joining the department in September 2003, Professor Elliott has developed a research profile that intersects international economics, development economics, environmental and energy economics, and international business, with a particular focus on the Chinese economy, firm behaviour, natural disasters, and the environmental impacts of globalisation. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, which include courses on the Global Economy and China and the World Economy, Professor Elliott is actively involved in various research initiatives. He is an editor for the Sustainable Future Policy Lab and a Director of the Trade, Environment, Development and Energy (TEDE) research group. His research encompasses a wide range of topics, including empirical environmental economics, international trade, energy economics, and the economics of natural disasters. He is currently engaged in the ''Brexit Uncertainty Index'' project and collaborates on Leverhulme Trust research projects related to globalisation and the environment. Professor Elliott is also a member of the Birmingham Plastics Network, an interdisciplinary team addressing the global plastics problem, and has been involved in numerous other initiatives, including being a Co-Investigator on the ReLIB project as part of the Faraday Institute and an affiliate of the Lloyds Bank Centre for Responsible Business. His research has been supported by significant grants, including approximately £1 million from the ESRC for a project on China-UK energy issues.
Research interests
Professor Robert Elliott''s research focuses on applied economics, particularly at the intersection of international economics, development economics, environmental and energy economics, and international business. His specific areas of interest include the Chinese economy, firm behaviour, natural disasters, and the impact of globalisation on the environment. He is involved in various research initiatives, including the Birmingham Plastics Network, which addresses the global plastics problem through interdisciplinary collaboration. Professor Elliott''s main research covers empirical environmental, international trade, development, energy, and labour economics, with specific topics including the economics of China and East Asia, empirical environmental and international economics, environmental economic history, globalisation and the environment, and the economics of natural disasters. He is also engaged in research related to trade, the environment, foreign direct investment (FDI), industrial restructuring, economic geography, and global value chains. Currently, he is working on the Brexit Uncertainty Index project and is involved in Leverhulme Trust research projects concerning globalisation and the environment.
International Economics
Development Economics
Environmental Economics
Energy Economics
Chinese Economy
Firm Behaviour
Natural Disasters
Globalisation
Empirical Environmental Economics
Empirical International Economics
Empirical Development Economics
Economic Geography
Global Value Chains
Trade and Environment
Biodiversity
Deforestation
Industrial Restructuring
Spatial Econometrics
Interdisciplinary Research
Econometric Techniques
Large Data Sets
Find a scholarship to fund your dream Masters
Sign in to view and filter all scholarship opportunities
or
Continue with Facebook