Deze cursusinformatie is bedoeld om de student te ondersteunen bij het verwerken van de leerstof

• Engels

Students must have had a basic course in economics (macro and micro ) and basic final high school mathematics level (up to derivatives)

On successful completion of this course, students …

▪ know and understand the approaches and key concepts of present-day economic and institutional theories of development.

▪ are able to place the approaches and key concepts of present-day economic and institutional theories of development in historical context.

▪ are able to explain the links between politics, models of governance and development policies.

The course provides an introduction to economic development, giving insight into the role of markets, the state, social norms and other fundamental determinants of economic development.It is not intended as a survey of the academic literature, or a how-to guide. Instead, the course is supposed to make students familiar with the basic facts of economic development, and the insights, debates and policy implications of different models of economic development. The key question, although we’ll stay well short of a satisfactory answer, is: “Why are some countries or regions rich and others poor, and what (if anything) can be done about it?”.

The course is organized in twelve sessions. The first two sessions introduce the concepts of economic development and institutions, and how they may relate to each other. In addition, an overview is given of the stylized facts of 200 years of economic development; and students are made familiar with the main development models that explain both economic growth over time as well as income differences between countries. In session 3, it is highlighted how these different development models as well as real world events (economic crises and debt) have influenced the policies of two important international institutions, i.e. the IMF and the World Bank.

Sessions 4 to 6 discuss important proximate determinants of economic growth, including population growth, human capital, technology and efficiency. Special attention is given to the mechanisms underlying the demographic transition, the causes and consequences of HIV/AIDS and malaria, and to the role of international trade in determining the level of technology and efficiency. Sessions 7, 8 and 9 unravel the fundamental determinants of economic growth, examining the role of governance and culture, as well as geography, climate & natural resources.

Session 10 looks at the relationship between resources and economic growth from a worldwide perspective, evaluating the questions whether natural resource shortages could be a problem for the world as a whole, and how economic growth affects the environment. In sessions 11 and 12 students are made familiar with the tragedy of the commons and the challenges of public good provision.

Johan Bastiaensen, johan.bastiaensen@ua.ac.be , 03 265 56 89, office S.216

Danny Cassimon, danny.cassimon@ua.ac.be , 03 265 59 37, office S.122

Marijke Verpoorten, Marijke.verpoorten@ua.ac.be,03 265 52 97, office S.151