Govt 100.06: Political Economy of Development
Course
Description
This course examines the political economy of developing countries. It addresses the questions: What is development? How have our ideas about development and its causes changed over time? Why are some countries rich and others poor? What progress have we made in our knowledge of developing countries? How have the experiences of people living in developing countries improved or worsened? Why after 50 years of ‘development’, are so many people still suffering from poverty, economic decline, ill health, political insecurity, repression, and powerlessness? Where should we focus our development efforts in the future?
First, the course surveys the major theories over the past 50 years about how states develop economically and politically. It considers how the theories shaped public policies and investigates the real-world and academic challenges that emerged. Second, the course examines some current development issues including: democratization, economic growth, poverty, rural economies, famine, and globalization. The assignments are designed to provide a greater understanding of the political and economic challenges faced by developing countries, as well as to develop social science reasoning and argumentation. The readings, class discussions, and writing assignments will move back and forth between academic theories, public policies, and real-world circumstances.