Development and Growth

Course goals

At the end of the course the student is able to:

• Understand the current state of affairs of economic development, as well as the long run progress of growth and development leading to this current state
• Identify determinants of growth, inequality and development
• Use the Solow and Lewis models to analyze growth and development trajectories
• Conduct basic distributional analysis (poverty and inequality measurement)
• Understand the role of trade and institutions in shaping development outcomes
• Analyze how education and health interact with growth and development
• Understand how geography and climate shape current development trajectories
• Understand the core elements of the aid effectiveness debate
• Interpret data to evaluate the consequences of economic actions on growth & development
• Provide a well-founded stand in current issues related to growth and development

Content

Development and Growth builds on concepts and theories presented in some first and second year courses, such as Multidisciplinary Economics and Intermediate Macroeconomics. We explore the relationship between growth, poverty, and development. The course starts by reviewing theories of modern economic growth including the Solow model. We complement and build on the Intermediate Macroeconomics course, which covers short-run business cycles, by examining long-run processes of economic growth and explaining persistent differences in income levels around the world. Our primary focus will be on developing countries. Second, we review the measurement of poverty and inequality and their relationship with economic growth. Third, we will describe and analyse the process of structural change that typically accommodates development. Fourth, we will discuss the role of institutions, aid and trade in shaping development trajectories. Fifth, we analyse problems of human development facing developing countries today, including issues related to  geopolitics, sustainability, climate change, and education. We will end the course by examining the spatial determinants of development.

Academic skills
This course focuses on the following academic skills:

Communication skills:
Being able to present any subject without specific instruction in a convincing manner to a broad audience.

Quantitative research skills:
Demonstrate understanding of measurement issues and empirical methods used in the analysis of development topics presented in the course.

Academic reasoning:

For independent large economic and multidisciplinary problems/questions:

• Thinking conceptually, applying theories
• Identifying how different problems relate to each other.

Social skills:
Being able to work effectively in teams without specific intervention or instruction.

Effort requirements
Active participation in at least 80% of the tutorials.


In case online access is required for this course and you are not in the position to buy the access code, you are advised to contact the course coordinator for an alternative solution. Please note that access codes are not re-usable meaning that codes from second hand books do not work, as well as access codes from books with a different ISBN. Separate or spare codes are usually not available.