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Geographer at the Dept. of Spatial Economics |
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Martijn Smit |
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For information on projects in rather advanced stages (i.e. published or about to be published), see articles. |
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Current projects |
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My MSc thesis in Geography focused on the perceptions that Italians have of their countryside. Desk researched showed many different images exist; field research showed these are different regarding different regions. |
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Perceptions of rurality |
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Cities take pride in offering broadband access to the internet. Does internet connectivity, a central place in the worldwide network of internet cables, really promote economic growth and lead to more employment? |
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Spatial effects of the internet |
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What is it that is really so interesting about cities when it comes to innovation? What sets them apart from the countryside? This has been a fundamental question in both urban and innovation research, and it’s also my central topic. |
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Innovation in cities |
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Every analysis of regional growth factors is heavily influenced by the choices the researcher makes: regional specification, sectoral specification, control variables, etcetera. Now our question is: how much do these choices matter? |
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Specifying your regressions |
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This is still to take off as a separate project. |
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I have presented my ideas at the 2008 RSA-conference in Prague. |
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With Martijn Burger, Frank van Oort et al. |
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A short article appeared in Regions in 2007 (no. 268, page 14-15). |
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Productivity, sustainability, firm growth and sector growth, and the interrelation between these measures of success is what we will look into in a joint project with TNO in Delft. We have used both CIS data and Productivity Statistics for the Netherlands. |
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Construction |
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A long-standing interest of mine is prominent position of Western classical music outside the West. ’Our’ classical music is well-known and widely performed in Japan, but also in China and Korea, in different parts of Africa, and of course in Latin America. |
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Western classical music outside Europe |
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External projects The main list on the right includes my own research projects. However, I’m also involved in some other projects: · SPARD, an FP7-project on the analysis of regional development headed by ZALF.
· ‘Systeemscan bouw’, a collaboration between VU and TNO on the construction industry. · the Amsterdamse Economische Verkenningen 2010, prepared by TNO with assistance from the VU. |
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Teaching I participate in the following courses: · Urban Economics (3rd year of BA) · Regional & Urban Economics (MA) · Field trip Earth & Economics (BA) · Sustainable Urban Development (BA University College Amsterdam) |
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Corop regions are supposed to be the closest Dutch equivalent to Labour Market Areas. Are they? |
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Corop regions |
