Development Economics, Fall 2007

WELLESLEYCOLLEGE

Economics 220

Development Economics, Fall 2007

David L. LindauerOffice Hours:

PNE 422Tuesday, 4-5:30;

Extension 2159Friday, 12:00-1:00;

Email: DLINDAUERand by appointment

Economics 220, Development Economics, is an introduction to the study of the economic circumstances and problems of low and middle-income economies. The course considers the contributions economic analysis can make to explaining why some nations are poor and others rich. It reviews alternative theories of economic growth and examines a number of specific issues central to the lives of the more than five billion people who live in the developing world.

COURSE REQUIRMENTS

Economics 101 and 102 are prerequisites for Econ 220; Economics 103 is recommended.One in-class examination covering Sections I-V of the syllabus will be given on or about the thirteenth class meeting. A final exam, covering Sections VI-IX, will be given as a self-scheduled exam during Final Exam Period. There will be numerous weekly assignments, including problem sets, short essays and brief research assignments. There also will be one longer research assignment, Econ 220’s “Missing Lecture”, due the last day of classes. Students will complete four map quizzes that require identification of countries in the various regions of the developing world. The midterm,final exam and assignments(including the map quizzes) each count for one third of your final course grade.

TEXT

Dwight H. Perkins, Steven Radelet and David L. Lindauer, Economics of Development

6th Edition (W. W. Norton, 2006). (In the syllabus this volume is referred to as TEXT.)

e-RESOURCES

Economics 220 has a dedicated course conference, ECON220-F07. Copies of the syllabus and assignments will be posted on the conference. Articles and information will be posted as well. Students are expected to check the conference regularly. The conference should be used by all members of the class to raise questions and exchange information.

In addition to the textbook, course readings and videos are drawn from a variety of sources. Journal articles generally are available online. Go to the Wellesley College Library’s Catalogue and search for the journal by its title. Some articles and videos are available from the web with URLs indicated on the syllabus. Other items may be found in thee-Reservesfolder in the ECON220-F07 conference or will be posted directly to the course conference.

Throughout the course you are expected to make active use of assigned readings.

I.What is Economic Development? (2weeks)

TEXT, Chapter 1, “Patterns of Development,” pp. 3-30; and Chapter 2, “Measuring Economic Growth and Development,” pp. 31-57.

J. Sachs, “Sachs to World Bank Staff: MDGs are Achievable,” March 22, 2005 (video);

J. Sachs, ‘Can Extreme Poverty Be Eliminated?” Scientific American (Sept. 2005), pp. 56-65.

United Nations Development Programme, "Defining and Measuring HumanDevelopment," HumanDevelopment Report, 1990, pp. 9-16.

A. Kelley, "The Human Development Index: Handle with Care," Population and Development Review 17 (June 1991), pp. 315-24.

M. Clemens and T. Moss, “What’s wrong with the Millennium Development Goals?” CGD Brief (September 2005);

P. Krugman, “Enemies of the WTO,” Slate (Nov. 23, 1999);

II.What Determines Economic Growth? (1 week)

L. Pritchett, “Divergence, Big Time,” Journal of Economic Perspectives (Summer 1997), pp. 3-17.

TEXT, Chapter 3, “Economic Growth: Concepts and Patterns,” pp. 59-102.

J. Diamond, “Why Did Human History Unfold Differently on Different Continents For The Last 13,000 Years?,”

R. Hausmann, “Prisoners of Geography,” Foreign Policy (January/February 2001),pp.44-53.

D. Acemoglu, “Root Causes,” Finance & Development (June 2003), pp. 27-30.

J. Sachs, “Institutions Matter, but Not for Everything,” Finance & Development (June 2003), pp. 38-41.

The Economist, “The road to hell is unpaved,” (December 19, 2002).

Theories of Economic Growth (1 week)

TEXT, Chapter 4, “Theories of Economic Growth,” pp. 103-135.

M. Wolf, “Why Is China Growing So Slowly?,” Foreign Policy (January 2005), pp. 51-52.

W. Easterly, “Aid for Investment,” The Elusive Quest for Growth (MIT: 2001), pp. 25-44.

IV. "The Washington Consensus" (1.5 weeks)

TEXT, Chapter 5, “”States and Markets,” pp. 149-186.

L. Summers and V. Thomas, "Recent Lessons of Development," World Bank Research Observer 8 (July 1993), pp. 241-54.

J. Williamson, "The Washington Consensus Revisited," Economic and Social Development into the XXI Century, L. Emmerij, ed. (IDB: 1997), pp.48-69. (e-Reserves)

D. Yergin and J. Stanislaw, “The Agony of Reform,” Commanding Heights (2002), (video; Knapp Reserves)

HarvardBusinessSchool Case #9-703-050, "India on the Move" (2003), pp. 1-29.

V.Beyond the Washington Consensus (1 week)

D. Lindauer and L. Pritchett, “What’s the Big Idea? The Third Generation of Policies for Economic Growth,” Economia (Fall 2002), pp. 1-18.

D. Rodrik, “Goodbye Washington Consensus, Hello Washington Confusion?” Journal of Economic Literature (December 2006), pp. 973-987.

N. Birdsall, D. Rodrik and A. Subramanian, “How to Help Poor Countries,” Foreign Affairs (July/August 2005).

N. Ferguson, “The Least Among Us,” New York Times (July 1, 2007)

P. Collier, “Poverty Reduction in Africa,” (2007)

E. Johnson-Sirleaf, “Liberia: From Crisis to Opportunity” (Sept. 18, 2006) (video)

VI.Inequality and Poverty (1.5 weeks)

TEXT, Chapter 6, “Inequality and Poverty,” pp. 189-236.

H. Rosling, “Debunking third-world myths,” (February 2006) (video)

A. Deaton, “Measuring Poverty,” Understanding Poverty, ed. A. Banerjee et al (Oxford: 2006)

The Economist, “The mountain man and the surgeon,” (December 20, 2005).

M. Yunus, “Ending Global Poverty,” (Sept.14, 2005) (video)

Hernando de Soto, “Globalization: Breaking Barriers to Participation,” (Feb. 19, 2004) (video);

VII.Population (2 weeks)

TEXT, Chapter 7, “Population,” pp. 237-274.

B. Easterly, “Cash for Condoms, ” The Elusive Quest for Growth (MIT: 2001), pp. 87-99.

J. Tierney, "Fanisi's Choice," Science 86, (Jan/Feb 1986), pp. 26-42.

S. Klasen, “Missing Women,” D. Clark, ed., Elgar Companion to Development Studies (Edward Elgar: 2006), pp. 389-95.

S. Lewis, “Reflections on AIDS in Africa,” (September 2006) (video)

VIII.Human Resources (2 weeks)

TEXT, Chapter 8, “Education,” pp. 275-314

M. Kremer et al., “Teacher Absence in India: A Snapshot,” Journal of the European Economic Association (April-May 2005), pp. 658-667.

A. Banerjee and E. Duflo, “Addressing Absence,” Journal of Economic Perspectives (Winter 2006), pp. 117-132.

M. Wasserman, “Eliminating Child Labor,” Regional Review (2ndQuarter 2000), Federal Re-serve Bank of Boston, pp. 151-8.

E. Edmonds, “The Economics of Consumer Actions against Products with Child Labor Content,” Child Labor World Atlas (2008)

[C. Udry, “Child Labor,” Understanding Poverty, ed. A. Banerjee et al (Oxford: 2006)

IX.Foreign Aid (1 week)

TEXT, Chapter 14, “Foreign Aid,” pp. 519-562.

W. Easterly, “The Big Push Déjà Vu: A Review of Jeffrey Sachs’s The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time,” Journal of Economic Literature (March 2006),

pp. 96-105.

N. Kristof, “Aid: Can It Work?,”The New York Review of Books (October 5, 2006)