Course description
Development Economics addresses development issues for poor countries. The course aims at explaining causes and effects of poverty and deriving policy implications. The course is based on theoretical economics, adapted to reflect the special institutional structures that characterize most developing countries.
Reading list
Meier, G. M. & Raunch J. E., 2000, Leading Issues in Economic Development, Oxford University Press Inc.
Bardhan, P. & Udry, C. , 1999, Development Microeconomics Oxford University Press Inc.
Acemoglu, Daron and Robinson, James A. (2000) "Why Did the West Extend the Franchise? Democracy, Inequality, and Growth in Historical Perspective" Quarterly Journal of Economics. 115(4): p 1167-1199. K
Andvig, Jens Chr. and Moene Karl Ove (1990) "How Corruption May Corrupt" Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 13(1): p 63-76. K
Hall, Robert E. and Jones, Charles I. (1999) "Why Do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output Per Worker Than Others?" Quarterly Journal of Economics. 114(1): p 83-116. K
Kremer, Michael (1993) "The O-Ring Theory of Economic Development" Quarterly Journal of Economics. 108(3): p 551-575. (Download the article from www.jstor.org).
Krugman, P. (1981) "Trade, accumulation and uneven development" Journal of Development Economics. 8, p 149-161. K
Mehlum, Halvor, Kalle Moene, and Ragnar Torvik (2002) "Plunder & Protection Inc." Journal of Peace Research 39/4 p. 447-459. K
Murphy, K A Shleifer and R. Vishny (1989) "Industrialization and the big push", Journal of Political Economy 97, p 1003-1026. (Download the article from www.jstor.org).
Obstfeld, M (1996) "Models of currency Crises with self-fulfilling features" European Economic Review, 1996: p 1037-1047. K
Rodrik, Dani (1991) "Policy Uncertainty and Private Investment in Developing Countries" Journal of Development Economics. 36(2): p 229-42. K
Shleifer, Andrei and Robert W. Vishny (1993) "Corruption" Quarterly Journal of Economics. 108(3): p 599-617. (Download the article from www.jstor.org).
Young, Allyn A. (1928) "Increasing Returns and Economic Progress" The Economic Journal. 38: p 527-542. (Download the article from www.jstor.org).
Young, Alwyn (1995) "The Tyranny of Numbers: Confronting the Statistical Realities of the East Asian Growth Experience" Quarterly Journal of Economics_. 110(3): p 641-680. (Download the article from www.jstor.org).
Reports:
World Bank (recent) World Development Report. http://econ.worldbank.org/wdr/
United Nations Development Program (recent) Human Development Report. http://hdr.undp.org/
The core of the syllabus is defined by the topics covered and the questions raised at the lectures. Detailed reading instructions will is given as part of the lecture plan.