THEORIES OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Single discipline educational activity

Course Sheet

Course code:

TSE555

Academic Year of enrolment:

2020

Year of supply:

2022/2023

Type of Course:

Characterising

Degree:

Course of 1st Cycle Degree in ECONOMY, MARKETS AND DEVELOPMENT

Disciplinary Sector:

Political Economy

Language:

Italian

Location:

PESCARA

Credits:

Programme Year:

Professor and Collaborators:

BUCCIARELLI EDGARDO

Cycle:

First semester

Hours of classroom activity:

Individual study hours:

153

Prerequisites:

NO PREREQUISITES APPLY
There are no specific prerequisites for this course. However, students would benefit from having a basic knowledge of microeconomics and macroeconomics.

Objectives

EDUCATIONAL GOALS
The course aims to provide students with the basic knowledge to be able to understand and analyse the dynamics of economic growth and development, starting from the normative principles elaborated in
standard and more recent theoretical approaches. The course also aims to encourage students to reflect on the ethical profiles of the various theories of economic development and, specifically, on the issues of inequality. The content of the course, therefore, represents one of the core subjects to achieve an "education aimed at understanding the functioning of modern economic and financial systems according to the study of issues concerning macro socio-economic development", in line with the educational regulation of the Degree Course as a whole.

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
After completing the course, students will be able to understand the different economic theories concerning development and will also have acquired an understanding of the dynamics of economic growth and, last but not least, the fundamental difference between "growth" and "development" of a country.

ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
After completing the course, students will be able to apply some techniques for measuring growth and economic development, as well as identify the underlying theoretical approaches in order to have the essential methodologies available to deal with critical and / or quantitative analyses of the related real, contemporary phenomena.

MAKING JUDGEMENTS
The approach to development economics allows the student to acquire an increasing aptitude for the complexity of everyday life within economic studies connected both to the ability to analyse sustainability and to the capacity to critically evaluate policy implications and socio-economic solutions to be adopted.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
After completing the course, students will be able to use economic language properly, as well as expose and discuss - with greater rigour than in the second year of the Degree Course - the relationships between some of the macroeconomic variables within growth and development models considered.

Contents

SUBJECT
Much of the content of the course stems from research related to the economics of growth and human development. In addition and complementary to the above is the topic of sustainable development and, more generally, the concept of sustainability.

Extended Syllabus

SYLLABUS
The syllabus focuses on the study of the following topics:
(1) Economic development and integral human development.
Differences between growth and economic development. Development and distribution of income. Human development and inequalities.
(2) The stylised facts. The trend of GDP and labour productivity. The accumulation of capital. The rate of profit and wage share. Accounting for growth.
(3) The theory of growth. The classical theory of "development". The neoclassical theory of growth. The Neokeynesian theory of growth. The main indicators of growth and development.
(4) Technological innovation. The effects of technological innovation and technical progress. Underdeveloped and developing countries: unsolved problems.
(5) Convergence and Deferred Catch-up. The convergence in the classical model. Unconditional convergence: evidence or lack thereof? The conditioned convergence.
(6) Increasing returns and growth. Economies of scale. Real performances. The role of international demand and competitiveness.
(7) Endogenous growth. General characteristics. The role of human capital. Some endogenous growth models.
(8) International relations and economic development. North and South, centre and periphery in the world economy. Growth and terms of trade. Development, foreign debt and the balance of paymentsconstraint.
(9) Market and public institutions in developing countries. Market and public institutions in the dynamics of development. Public goods. Macroeconomic stabilisation.
(10) The sustainability of development.
(11) Experimental development economics.

Recommended Bibliography

READING LIST
(1) Ray, D. (1998). Development Economics. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
(2) Other suggested readings may be provided during the classes.

For further studies:
(1) Human Development Report 2020: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-report-2020
http://report.hdr.undp.org/.
(2) Global Sustainable Development Report 2019:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/globalsdreport/2019.
(3) The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:
https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda.

Methods of Provision

Conventional

Teaching Methods

EDUCATIONAL METHODS
Lectures delivered by the teacher in the classroom and any related seminars given by experts in the field. Individual or group tutoring immediately subsequent to classroom activities. Critical discussions with students on the topics covered during the classes will be encouraged, with the request to compare the results of standard economic theory with the reality of contemporary economic systems and real-world challenges.

Evaluation methods

Verification of learning:

ASSESSMENT METHODS
(1) Learning assessment: possible mid-term exams based on the content of the lessons provided (this test contributes 30% to the formation of the final mark: mid-term course evaluation).
(2) Summative assessment: final written examination including four closed and/or open-ended questions.
(3) The assessment is based on the following criteria: knowledge of the contents of the subject, property of language and economic lexicon, ability to consult economic sources, logical skills, ability to solve interpretative, applicative, and related problems. Final assessment: final mark expressed in thirtieths.

Contacts/More Information

FURTHER INFORMATION
If Health Laws and/or University regulations provide for it, teaching and
related activities, including exams, may take place online (in whole or in part) via authorised platforms. For any further information and updates, please refer to the University website.

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

Aree