Prof Maitreesh Ghatak 32L. 3.08A and Dr Gharad Bryan 32L. 3.10

This course is available on the MPA in European Public and Economic Policy, MPA in International Development, MPA in Public Policy and Management, MPA in Public and Economic Policy, MPA in Public and Social Policy, MSc in Development Studies, MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, MSc in Economics, MSc in Economics (2 Year Programme) and MSc in Environmental Economics and Climate Change. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Students must have completed Introductory Course in Mathematics and Statistics (EC400).

Students should have completed courses in intermediate level microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics.

The course provides an advanced treatment of development economics, including theory, evidence and policy. The aim of the course is to develop students' research abilities by examining a large number of current theoretical and applied topics drawn from the forefront of development economics research. The course has a strong applied focus. For each major topic covered we want to derive testable implications from the theory, subject these to econometric testing, comment on the robustness of the results obtained and draw out policy conclusions.

The course is divided into three parts.

(i) Patterns of Growth, Development and Change: Neoclassical models of capital accumulation. Endogenous growth models. Industrialization and the big push. Economic inequality and growth. Institutional change. Political economy and the role of government.

(ii) Structural Features of Low-income Economies. Formal and informal risk-sharing institutions. Saving behaviour. Financial institutions and allocation of credit. Problems of agricultural development. Relationships between landlords and tenants. Poverty and under-nutrition. Intra-household allocation and gender bias. Property rights and institutional reform. Social networks and collective action. Industrial organisation.

(iii) Policy Analysis: Land reforms. Investments in human capital. Media and public policy. Alternative institutional mechanisms for provision of public goods.

20 hours of lectures and 8 hours of seminars in the MT. 20 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the LT. 2 hours of seminars in the ST.

Occasional written assignments will be expected throughout the MT and LT.

Most of the reading is from journal articles which appear on reading lists distributed at the start of each part of the course. However, the following references may serve as an introduction to material included in the syllabus. Handbook of Development Economics, Volumes I and II edited by Chenery and Srinivasan, Volume III and IV edited by Behrman and Srinivasan, Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1994; D Ray, Development Economics, Princeton UP, 1998.

Exam (50%, duration: 3 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (50%, 6000 words) in the ST.