This course is available on the MSc in Economics (2 Year Programme). This course is not available as an outside option to students on other programmes. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

New course for the 2027/28 academic session.

How to apply: These courses are intended for MSc Economics, MSc Economics (2 Year Programme), and MSc EME Students. Any external student must have successfully completed EC400 or EC451 in September and have approval of the Department of Economics.

Deadline for application: Please apply as soon as possible after the opening of course selection for all courses.

For queries contact: Econ.msc@lse.ac.uk

Pre-requisites:

Students must have completed EC451 or EC400 before taking this course.

Additional requisites:

In exceptional circumstances, students may take this course without EC400/EC451 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 are likely to include political economy, technological change, economic growth, education, demography, the economics of law and property rights, gender, culture, social mobility and inequality. The emphasis will be on combining theory and data to evaluate fundamental ideas in economics concerning the determinants of well-being, the origins of growth, and the dynamics of market economies.

20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.

Students will be expected to produce at least 1 presentation and 1 exercise.

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); Diamond (1997) "Guns, Germs and Steel".

Exam (100%), duration: 120 minutes, reading time: 15 minutes in the Spring exam period.

The summative assessment consists of an exam that reviews and synthesises all course materials.

This course is IRDAP-enabled, meaning that resit and deferred assessments will take place in August at the end of the academic year.