Dr Jeremiah Dittmar 32L.2.22 and Dr Neil Cummins SAR.5.13

This course is available on the MSc in Economic History, MSc in Economics and MSc in Economics (2 Year Programme). 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 also have completed courses in intermediate level microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics.

In exceptional circumstances, students may take this course without EC400 provided they meet the necessary requirements and have received approval from the course conveners (via a face to face meeting), the MSc Economics Programme Director and their own Programme Director. Contact the Department of Economics for more information (econ.msc@lse.ac.uk) regarding entry to this course.

This course will provide a rigorous introduction to the analysis of long run economic growth and development. The focus is on acquiring the necessary empirical skills to engage in advanced analysis of economic evidence, and to develop an understanding of how historical evidence can shape and inform economic theory. Topics at the forefront of economics and economic history will be covered. These include political economy, technological change, economic growth, education, demography, the economics of law and property rights, gender, culture, and the distribution of income. The emphasis will be on combining theory and data to evaluate fundamental ideas in economics concerning the determinants of well-being and the dynamics of market economies.

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

Students will be expected to produce 1 presentation and 1 exercise in the MT and LT.

The formative coursework will consist of a combination of student presentations,  written exercises, data analysis, and problems.

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: Nunn, "The Importance of History for Economic Development" (2009); Robinson and Acemoglu, "Why Nations Fail" (2012); Acemoglu, "Introduction to Modern Economic Growth" (Princeton, 2009); Hall and Jones, "The New Kaldor Facts: Ideas, Institutions, Population, and Human Capital" (2010); Mokyr, "Lever of Riches" (1988); Piketty (2013) "Capital in the Twenty-First Century".

Exam (30%, duration: 2 hours) in the LT week 0.
Exam (30%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (40%, 5000 words) in the ST.

The summative assessment consists of an exam that reviews and synthesises all course materials and an essay.  The essay will be a critical analytic essay providing an opportunity for original empirical research.