Economic Development

Master 2022/2023

Type: Elective course (Population and Development)

Area of studies: Public Administration

Delivered by: School of Politics and Governance

Where: Faculty of Social Sciences

When: 1 year, 3, 4 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Denis Ivanov

Master’s programme: Population and Development

Language: English

ECTS credits: 6

Contact hours: 48

Full Syllabus

Abstract

The course introduces basic concepts and approaches to global economic development. We consider such possible explanations of striking differences between countries in terms of income and development as geography, human capital, institutions, and culture. A group discussion will be held to analyze comprative importance of each of these factors in global development. We will discuss complex development problems like the resource curse problem and the international aid debate. Studens will also be required to submit their essays on timely development issues. Finally, the aforementioned concepts would be applied to examine possible reasons of development success and failures. The course is built on rigorous econometric evidence and also gives basic understanding of topics like causal inference and program evaluation.

Learning Objectives

To overview basic theories on origins of global economic disparities
To consider the roles geography, human capital, institutions, and culture play in creating cross-country differences in economic development
To examine origins and potential solutions of development problems like management of natural resource revenues and distribution of international aid
To offer explanations for individual country cases of development successes and failures

Expected Learning Outcomes

To analyze comparative roles of geography, human capital, institutions, and culture in global development
To apply the concepts from the course to development problems like management of natural resource revenues and distribution of international aid
To interpret individual country cases of successful and unsuccessful development using concepts from the course
To name basic theories and conceptual frameworks used to analyze global development
To suggest novel development strategies and solutions for development problems facing the global community basing on concepts from the course.

Course Contents

Global Inequality. Basic Development Theories
Geography and development
Human Capital and Development
Institutions and Development
Culture and Development
Resorces: Curse or Blessing
International Aid
The East Asian Miracle

Assessment Elements

Activity during seminars
Essay
Final exam

Interim Assessment

2022/2023 4th module
0.125 * Activity during seminars + 0.25 * Essay + 0.5 * Final exam

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S., & Rosinson, J. A. (2001). The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation. American Economic Review, 91(5), 1369. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.91.5.1369
Alesina, A., & Giuliano, P. (2015). Culture and Institutions†. Journal of Economic Literature, 53(4), 898–944. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.53.4.898
Burnside, C., & Dollar, D. (2000). Aid, Policies, and Growth. American Economic Review, 90(4), 847–868. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.90.4.847
Easterly, W. (2001). The Elusive Quest for Growth : Economists’ Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=62733
Easterly, W., & Levine, R. (1997). Africa’s Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(4), 1203–1250. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355300555466
Evans, P. B. (1995). Embedded Autonomy : States and Industrial Transformation. Princeton University Press.
Guns, germs, and steel : the fates of human societies, Diamond, J., 1999
Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2008). The Role of Cognitive Skills in Economic Development. Journal of Economic Literature, 46(3), 607–668. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.46.3.607
Jeffrey D. Sachs. (2005). The End of Poverty : Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Penguin Books.
Making democracy work : civic traditions in modern Italy, Putnam, R. D., 1994
Michael L. Ross. (2012). The Oil Curse : How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations. Princeton University Press.
Milanovic, B. (2013). Global Income Inequality in Numbers: in History and Now Global Income Inequality in Numbers: in History and Now. Global Policy, 4(2), 198–208. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12032
Philippe Aghion, & Steven Durlauf. (2005). Handbook of Economic Growth. North Holland.
Rajan, R. G., & Subramanian, A. (2008). Aid and Growth: What Does the Cross-Country Evidence Really Show? Review of Economics & Statistics, 90(4), 643–665. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest.90.4.643
Rodrik, D., Subramanian, A., & Trebbi, F. (2004). Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions Over Geography and Integration in Economic Development. Journal of Economic Growth, 9(2), 131–165. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOEG.0000031425.72248.85
Sachs, J. D. (2012). Government, Geography, and Growth. Foreign Affairs, 91(5), 142–150.
WANTCHEKON, L., KLAŠNJA, M., & NOVTA, N. (2015). Education and Human Capital Externalities: Evidence from Colonial Benin. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(2), 703–757. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjv004

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2012). Why Nations Fail : The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (Vol. 1st ed). New York: Currency. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=590177
Angrist, J. D., & Pischke, J.-S. (2009). Mostly Harmless Econometrics : An Empiricist’s Companion. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=329761
Joe Studwell. (2013). How Asia Works : Success and Failure In the World’s Most Dynamic Region. Grove Press.
North, D. C., Weingast, B. R., & Wallis, J. J. (2009). Violence and Social Orders : A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=273785

Course Syllabus