ECON 407: Advanced Topics in Development Economics

This course has two aims. In the first four weeks of the semester students will be introduced to some core issues in Development Economics. These topics will be covered at a more advanced level than they are covered in existing courses and will provide the basic framework for the remainder of the course. In the second part of the course, which constitutes the bulk, students will have an opportunity to engage with a specific topic in greater depth. This topic will vary with the instructor teaching the course. The proposed topics are: Urbanization in Developing Countries, Poverty and Inequality, Structural Change and Transformation, Gender and Development, War, Macroeconomic Issues in Developing Countries, and Political Economy of Development. Whichever the area, students will be given the skills necessary to critically analyze the process of economic development, to identify the winners and losers in this process, and to appreciate what would constitute just and sustainable policy in that area.