GY404 Half Unit
Inclusive Growth
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Neil Lee
Availability
This course is available on the MPhil/PhD in Economic Geography, MSc in Geographic Data Science, MSc in Inequalities and Social Science, MSc in Innovation Policy, MSc in Local Economic Development and MSc in Urban Policy (LSE and Sciences Po). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: Priority: MSc Local Economic Development then other students. Priority is typically for students enrolled in Geography and Environment programmes, or joint degree programmes, however course specific availability is indicated via the 'Availability section' on the LSE course guide webpages. Guidance on how to apply to individual controlled access courses can also be found on LSE for You in the Graduate Course Selection system.
Please note: The number of students that can be accommodated is limited. If a course is over-subscribed, places will be allocated at the Department's discretion and a waiting list may be created. It is advised to have an alternative course in mind as a back-up in case you are unable to secure your first-choice course selection.
Deadline for application: Further guidance and information on course selection for Geography and Environment courses (GY4xx) will be available on the Geography and Environment Course Selection Moodle page which will go live from Monday 8 September and will be updated with course availability information daily throughout the course selection period. This page includes information on the timeline for course selection decisions in the Geography and Environment Department as well as the individual course application processes and requirements
A list of all taught master's courses in this Department are listed on LSE's course guide webpages.
For queries contact: geog.led@lse.ac.uk
Requisites
Additional requisites:
Students from across LSE have done well in GY404, but a good background in economic geography, economics, public policy, social policy or political science helps.
Course content
Policymakers globally face two linked challenges. First, they need to achieve economic growth. Development has stalled across much of the advanced world, many countries are stuck in middle-income traps, and growth has been highly uneven in the ‘developing’ world. But alongside this they need to ensure this growth translates into shared prosperity. Many countries have seen growing inequality. Where countries have achieved growth, this as too often failed to benefit workers. People’s lives are shaped by the economies of where they live, so to meet these challenges will require place based solutions from both national and local government.
GY404 is a policy focused course looking at the intersection of economic change, place, and inclusive growth. We will consider two basic questions: Can economic development be made inclusive? And, if so, how? To help answer these questions we will engage with some key themes. These include the economics of technological change and implications for both developed and less developed economies, the relationship between innovation and inequality, the creation of 'good jobs', entrepreneurship, finance and microfinance as tools for poverty reduction, and the logics of place based industrial policy
Teaching
15 hours of seminars and 20 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.
In the Department of Geography and Environment, teaching will be delivered through a combination of classes/seminars, pre-recorded lectures, live online lectures and other supplementary interactive live activities.
Formative assessment
GY404 is a highly interactive course where students undertake simultations based on case studies and policy activities. Students are expected to present, debate, and participate actively in seminars.
Indicative reading
Lee, N. 2024. Innovation for the masses: How to share the benefits of the tech economy. University of California Press.
OECD. 2014. All on board: Making inclusive growth happen. OECD.
Moretti, E. 2013. The New Geography of Jobs. Harcourt Mifflin.
Assessment
Exam (100%), duration: 120 Minutes in the Spring exam period
Key facts
Department: Geography and Environment
Course Study Period: Winter Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 47
Average class size 2024/25: 47
Controlled access 2024/25: NoCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Communication
- Application of numeracy skills
- Commercial awareness
- Specialist skills