Course Description:  What makes some countries rich while others remain poor?  Why do some countries have stable growth rates over time while others are relatively stagnant?  The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the problems, challenges, and opportunities associated with international economic development.  Specifically, we will look at how our understanding of economic growth and the factors that influence growth have changed over time as well as the applicability of these theories to less-developed countries.  Next, we will examine some of the dominant domestic problems faced by developing countries, such as poverty and inequality, low levels of human capital, and government corruption, as well as different policies to resolve them.  Finally, we will turn our attention to macroeconomic issues such as international trade, foreign investment and aid, fiscal policy, and the financial sector, focusing again on policies that will promote growth.  Within this framework a strong emphasis will be placed on empirical evidence that demonstrates what has worked and what has not worked in the past in terms of economic development.

Course Objectives:  The goals of this course are for every student to:

• Explain alternative theories of economic growth and evaluate their ability to explain the growth experiences of less-developed countries.

• Discuss the domestic problems that developing nations face, assess the seriousness of these problems, and evaluate the effectiveness of various policies designed to deal with domestic issues.

• Explain how poor macroeconomic policies create disincentives for economic growth and describe policies that can be used to create optimal conditions for growth.

• Appreciate the value of empirical evidence in expanding our knowledge within economics.

• Improve oral communication skills.
  

ECO 375 Weekly Update:

I am not teaching this course currently.