Development Economics

This course analyses the economic challenges faced by low and middle income countries. The course is divided into five sections. The first section addresses the emergence of Development Economics as a new discipline in the post-war period and how this new thinking was reflected in the international institutional environment as epitomized by the IMF, World Bank and the GATT [later WTO]. The general global economic performance of the past 60 years will also be analysed. The influential writings of Amartya Sen and his reorientation of what development means will then be considered. The second section looks at different theories of growth from Adam Smith to the current day. The third section appraises the key influential articles on development thinking that emerged in the 1950s. Sections four and five address the international dimension to development, in particular the contested view of the relationship between economic openness and economic growth. Within these sections, much attention will be given to the role played by government, economic openness and macroeconomic issues in fostering development.