Introduction
Purpose:
This course is concerned with both the economics
and the politics of development at
the international, national, and local
levels. We will consider policies
which help and hinder
development. One of our aims is to distinguish which hinder and
which help. We will also try to
develop an ability to analyze
democratic political
processes because
it is the political mechanism which chooses
policies.
We may also examine
other regimes such as dictatorships, but our ability to rationalize policy
choices in such settings is less
developed. In terms of
disciplines relevant to this course
-- history, economics, organizations and
political science, at least, are involved.
The aim of the course is to
develop an ability to understand relevant
real world phenomena.
Hence, we hope that students who
finish this class will have an awareness of
issues of economic development on
both a global and local basis, and
have a capacity to understand
and explain why any particular policy
choices have been made.
Classes:
The classes involve both lecture and
discussion. There is a text: Debraj Ray, Development
Economics, Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ, 1998.
There will also be readings assigned.
There are no readings which
are perfectly suited to our purpose, but the materials for some sections
fit better than others. However,
all assigned readings are important. The
instructor will often supplement the
viewpoints expressed in the readings. It
is important that students attend
class, do the readings, pay
attention, and participate in
discussions. It is especially
important for students to ask questions, because thinking about
a subject matter deeply enough
to be able to pose insightful questions is
an essential part of learning.
.
Paper:
There is a paper which
is a very important part of the class. The paper is due in
final form for grading no later
than the last meeting of the class and will
be the basis for at least half of the final grade.
More importantly, producing this
paper is a very central part of the
learning in this course.
It is designed to be interactive between students
and the Instructor. Early
selection of a topic is essential. Students
select their own topic, but the topic must be approved.
Some class time will be devoted to the discussion of topics.
This discussion will begin to take place
in September. Outlines
should be completed within two
weeks after topics are selected. Students
will be asked to present their ideas about
their papers to the class
periodically during the
semester.
Papers are expected to be your own work.
In the past the availability of prepared
papers which can be acquired
over the web has resulted in some students
getting such papers and
submitting them as their own work. For
this reason, all students are required to submit final papers in two forms:
A hard copy which I will grade and
an electronic version (disc) which will be submitted to a web site which
compares the paper, paragraph
by paragraph,
to those found on the web. Such
copying results in an automatic R for your final grade in
the course.
For reasons of proper
academic standards, as well
as that identified above, papers must
contain an appropriate bibliography and
have footnotes which indicate the
source s of ideas discussed in the
text as well as identify any quotations. Failure
to footnote properly also will
result in a heavy penalty on your grade for the paper.
Grades:
There will be a midterm and a final exam, both
of equal importance.
Exams are usually designed to be learning
experiences in themselves,
and are usually in the format of discussion.
Exams form half of the final grade and
the paper the other half.
Social: In an effort to try to get to know students on a basis which is different from that afforded by class, the instructor has a policy of being host for pizza dinners.. Students form a group of 4-6 persons and see either the instructor or his secretary to get a date and time selected.