Boston University

Department of Economics

EC 320: Economics of Less-Developed Regions Summer 2014: Course Syllabus Instructor: Benjamin Ogden Email: [email protected] Office: 270 Bay State Road #429 (will change) Office Hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 5-6 PM, and by appointment Class Time: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 6-9 PM Class Location: CAS 204a Class Website: https://sites.google.com/a/bu.edu/benjamin-ogden/teaching/development Course Description This course provides an overview of major topics in the study of economic development. We will combine a discussion of relevant economic theory with a review of empirical evidence on the determinants of income growth and poverty reduction. Each class will provide an overview of a different area within the field. The goal is not to provide an exhaustive coverage of all relevant topics, but to expose students to current issues and debates in the field of development economics. In-class experiments will be used to illuminate some of the crucial theoretical topics, and seminar-style discussion will allow the class to analyze and critique previous research themselves. Course Objectives By the end of this course, students should: 1. Understand fundamental components of the theory of economic development 2. Be familiar with standard indicators of growth, inequality, and human development 3. Know how to critically interpret empirical research results 4. Think innovatively about how to link theory and empirical evidence 5. Be capable of reading economic articles and arguments effectively and efficiently 6. Be able to critique popular discussion of economic development goals and policy Prerequisites: EC 101 and EC 102. Experience with basic microeconomic and/or macroeconomic theory at a 200-level is desirable, but not necessary, as is some background interpreting statistical results. Assignments and Grading Your final grade for this course will consist of the following: 1. Participation – 15% 2. Pop Quizzes (7) – 15% 3. Exam – 30% [June 25th] 4. Paper – 40% [Due June 26th] Participation. All students will be expected to participate in classroom discussions. The small class-size allows the course to be taught as an interactive seminar, but will require the participation (and pre-class reading) of all participants. Due to the small number of classes, you will lose one-third of a letter grade for each absence without a medical excuse.

1

Boston University

Department of Economics

Pop Quizzes. There will be seven in-class pop quizzes over the course of the summer. The quizzes will be multiple choice and short answer questions designed to assess whether students have completed the assigned reading for a given day. Your grade will be determined by your top six quiz scores. Exam. The exam will cover readings and lecture material from the entire semester. Questions will be a combination of multiple choice and short essay. In addition, the student will be expected to analyze some popular writing on economic development and critique it using skills from the course. The exam will be held during class and may not be rescheduled. Paper. Each student will propose a paper topic along with a country or sub-region of interest, no later than June 12th. The student will be expected to provide a paper on how that topic applies to the past, present, and future economic development of the nation in question. This will involve a combination of applying economic theory and empirical evidence from the course, as well as presenting available data on the topic. The essay should conclude with a relevant policy proposal (or critique of current policy) for the nation. A rubric will be provided on how the essay will be graded. Expectations and Requirements 1. Students should complete assigned readings before each class and come prepared to discuss them. Participation in class discussions is a core component of the learning process. 2. Arrive on time and give advance notice if you will be late or absent. Note that since the summer session consists of only 12 classes, missing one class is tantamount to missing a week during the semester. This is the reason for strict attendance policies. 3. Requests for re-grades must be put in writing and submitted to me within a week of receiving an initial grade. If a re-grade is requested, the entire assignment will be regraded, and not simply one question. The goal of assignments is to enhance students’ understanding of course material. Grades should not be seen as an end in themselves. 4. Email communications should be limited to short messages providing basic information or requesting urgent clarifications. Please include EC320 in the subject line. Take advantage of class time and office hours to bring up any substantial concerns. I find that it is more constructive to address these issues in person. 5. Technology is wonderful, but cell phones are prohibited within the class room. 6. Familiarize yourselves with BU’s Academic Conduct Code. Violations will be penalized harshly. 7. If you have any disability-related needs or require any special arrangements, please let me know immediately.

2

Boston University

Department of Economics

Outline of Course Topics and Reading 1. Introduction and Overview, or Why Economic Development is the Heart of Economics a. UP, Ch. 1 b. WNF, Preface & Ch. 1 c. Banerjee & Duflo, The Economic Lives of the Poor, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2007 d. Deaton, Income, Health, and Well-Being Around the World, Journal of Economic Perspectives 2008 2. The Miracle of Economic Growth and the Puzzle of Divergence 3. Why Fences Matter: Markets and Property Rights a. Hayek, The Use of Knowledge in Society, American Economic Review, 1945 b. Hornbeck, Barbed Wire: Property Rights and Agricultural Development, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2010 c. Creative Destruction, Econlib, http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/CreativeDestruction.html 4. Sins of the (Great-Great-Great-Grand)Fathers: Geography, History, or None of the Above a. UP, Ch. 3 b. WNF, Ch. 2 c. Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson, The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development, American Economic Review, 2001 5. The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades: The Role of Technological Progress a. UP, Ch. 5 6. Everything Bad Is Good: International Trade, Globalization, Sweatshops, and Child Labor a. UP, Ch. 6, 7, 16, 17 b. Bastiat, Candlestick Makers’ Petition, http://bastiat.org/en/petition.html c. Sweatshop, Econlib, http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2008/Powellsweatshops.html 7. Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Human Capital, Health, and Education a. UP, Ch. 15, 18, 20, 21 b. Kremer, Randomized Evaluations of Educational Programs in Developing Countries, American Economic Review, 2003 c. Canning, The Economics of HIV/AIDS in Low-Income Countries, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2006 8. It’s the Jobs, Stupid: Labor Markets, Migration, and Occupational Choice a. Gibson and McKenzie, Eight Questions About Brain Drain, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2011 b. Clemens and McKenzie, Think Again: Brain Drain, Foreign Policy 2009, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/22/think_again_brain_drain 9. Why Do We Care About Inequality? a. UP, Ch. 4, 13 10. Who Owns the Land?: Land Ownership and Reform a. UP, Ch. 8 11. Household is Where the Heart Is: Fertility, Family, and Gender a. UP, Ch. 9 & 10 b. Sen, More Than 100 Million Women Are Missing, New York Review of Books 1990 3

Boston University

Department of Economics

c. Thomas, Intra-Household Resource Allocation: An Inferential Approach, Journal of Human Resources, 1990 d. Qian, Missing Women and the Price of Tea in China, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2008 e. Udry, Gender, Agricultural Production, and the Theory of the Household, Journal of Political Economy, 1996 f. Duflo, Grandmothers and Granddaughters: Old-Age Pensions and Intra-household Allocation in South Africa, World Bank Economic Review 2003 12. Saving is Not As Easy As You Think: Credit, Investment, Saving, and Insurance a. UP, Ch. 14, 22, 23 13. Don’t Hate the Game, Hate the Institution: Political Institutions and Development a. WNF, Whole Book 14. Not All Democracies Are Created Equally: Culture, Corruption, and the Political Economy of Development a. UP, Ch. 11, 12, 19 b. Fisman and Miguel, Cultures of Corruption: Evidence from Diplomatic Parking Tickets, NBER Working Paper 12312 15. White Man’s Burden: What, if Anything, Can the West Do? Required Textbooks Understanding Poverty. Abhijit Banerjee, Roland Benabou, and Dilip Mookherjee, editors. Oxford University Press, 2006. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. Crown Business, 2012. Further Reading Development Economics. Debraj Ray. Princeton University Press, 1998. (strongly recommended if you have any interest in pursuing a career in development)

4

Boston University

Department of Economics

Useful Resources Statistics  http://www.worldbank.org/ (The World Bank) o World Development Indicators: http://data.worldbank.org/ o World Development Reports: http://wdronline.worldbank.org/ 

http://www.undp.org/ (United Nations Development Programme) o Human Development Reports: http://hdr.undp.org/en/ o Millennium Development Goals Monitor: http://www.mdgmonitor.org/



http://www.wider.unu.edu/ (UN World Institute for Development Economic Research) o World Income Inequality Database: http://www .wider.unu.edu/research/Database/en_GB/database/ o DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH http://www .wider.unu.edu/research/projects-by-theme/povertyinequality/en_GB/personal- assets-from-a-global-perspective/



http://www.adb.org/ (Asian Development Bank)



http://www.afdb.org/ (African Development Bank)



http://www.iadb.org/ (Inter-American Development Bank)



http://www.gapminder.org (Gapminder)

Survey data  World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study: http://go.worldbank.org/PDHZFQZ6L0/ 

Demographic and Health Surveys: www.measuredhs.com/



IPUMS International (Census Data): http://international.ipums.org/international/

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EC 320 syllabus.pdf

Boston University Department of Economics. 3. Outline of Course Topics and Reading. 1. Introduction and Overview, or Why Economic Development is the Heart ...

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