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ECON44415: DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS

It is possible that changes to modules or programmes might need to be made during the academic year, in response to the impact of Covid-19 and/or any further changes in public health advice.

Type Tied
Level 4
Credits 15
Availability Available in 2023/24
Module Cap
Location Durham
Department Economics

Prerequisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • None

Aims

  • To develop advanced knowledge and analytical skills in the theory and practice of development economics.

Content

  • The module covers the economics and policies of development. Topics may include:
  • Development and Poverty
  • Proximate determinants of economic development
  • Deep determinants of economic development
  • Foreign direct investment and growth
  • Inequality and income redistribution
  • Human capital and education market
  • Healthcare policy
  • Foreign aid
  • Political economy of development and environment
  • Development policymaking and role of market, state and civil society

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • be able to interpret scholarly literature at the frontier of research in development economics;
  • have a critical understanding of the economic differences between developing and developed countries and of the policies aimed at addressing those differences
  • have explored, understood and appreciated the complexity and contradictions of the current academic literature and its implications for professional practice, and be able to identify open questions for their own research in development economics.

Subject-specific Skills:

  • be able to apply advanced problem-solving and analytical skills to complex issues in development economics;
  • be able to offer policy recommendations informed by the knowledge and analytical skills acquired in the module to address the differences in economic performances between developing and developed countries.

Key Skills:

  • Written Communication;
  • Planning, Organising and Time Management;
  • Problem Solving and Analysis;
  • Using Initiative;
  • Numeracy;
  • Computer Literacy.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • Lectures will present the topics in detail, give suggestions for further reading, give guidance for the problems for the seminars, and give students the necessary knowledge to read and understand the relevant scholarly literature.
  • In the seminars students will be encouraged to actively participate and solve problems. The seminars will train the students to solve analytical problems in theory of developments economics, critically discuss its applications as well as giving students the opportunity to identify research questions.
  • The summative written examination will test students knowledge and critical understanding of the material covered in the module, their analytical and problem-solving skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Lectures101 per week2 hour20 
Seminars4Fortnightly1 hour4Yes
Revision lecture12 hour2 
Preparation & Reading124 
Total150 

Summative Assessment

Component: ExamComponent Weighting: 100%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
One written online examination2 hour, 3,000 words max100Same

Formative Assessment

One formative assessment to prepare students for the summative exam.

More information

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