Economics 404W-03
Topic: Development Economics
Spring, 2006
Professor:
James Tybout
E-mail:
jtybout@psu.edu
Office:
517
Phone:
865-4259
Office hours: Wednesdays and Thursdays,
Teaching asst.:
This course has two basic objectives. The
first is to introduce students to the distinctive characteristics and problems
of less developed countries (LDCs). The second is to
teach professional writing skills.
The prerequisite is either Econ 302 or
Econ 304. There will be two midterms and an 8 page country report, each
counting for 25 percent of your grade. Problem sets, interim writing
assignments and class participation will determine the remaining 25 percent of
your grade. The midterms will be administered at
The textbooks for this course, which you
should buy, are: Todaro, Michael and Stephen
Smith, 2006, Economic Development, 9th
edition, Addison-Wesley and Ross-Larson,
Bruce, 1996, Edit Yourself, New York: Norton.
Several chapters will also be assigned from: Easterly, William. 2001. The
Elusive Quest for Growth.
Academic Integrity
The ability of
the University to achieve its purposes depends upon the quality and integrity
of the academic work that its faculty, staff and students perform. Academic
freedom can flourish only in a community of scholars which recognizes that
intellectual integrity, with its accompanying rights and responsibilities, lies
at the heart of its mission. Observing basic honesty in one's work, words,
ideas, and actions is a principle to which all members of the community are
required to subscribe.
All course work
by students is to be done on an individual basis unless an instructor clearly
states that an alternative is acceptable. Any reference materials used in the
preparation of any assignment must be explicitly cited. In an examination
setting, unless the instructor gives explicit prior instructions to the
contrary, whether the examination is in-class or take-home, violations of
academic integrity shall consist of any attempt to receive assistance from
written or printed aids, or from any person or papers or electronic devices, or
of any attempt to give assistance, whether the one so doing has completed his
or her own work or not. Other violations include, but are not limited to, any
attempt to gain an unfair advantage in regard to an examination, such as
tampering with a graded exam or claiming another's work to be one's own.
Violations shall
also consist of obtaining or attempting to obtain, previous to any examinations,
copies of the examination papers or the questions to appear thereon, or to
obtain any illegal knowledge of these questions. Lying to the instructor or
purposely misleading any
In cases of a
violation of academic integrity it is the policy of the Department of Economics
to impose the most severe penalties that are consistent with University
guidelines.
Missed Exams
There will be no make-up
exams. Those who miss a midterm exam without a valid excuse will receive a zero
for that exam. Those who miss an exam but document a valid excuse for their
absence will receive a course grade based on their remaining course work. The
Economics Department defines valid excuses as follows:
Valid Excuses: During the
course many possible situations may arise that would result in your inability
to attend class, attend exams, or perform at a minimally acceptable level
during an examination. Illness or injury, family emergencies, certain University-approved
curricular and extra-curricular activities, and religious holidays can be
legitimate reasons to miss class or to be excused from a scheduled
examination.
In the case of your own illness or injury, confirmation from a
physician, physician’s assistant, a nurse-practitioner, or a nurse is
required. Be advised that University Health Services cannot provide such
verification unless they have provided treatment and the student authorizes
release of information to the instructor. Further, barring extraordinary
circumstances, the confirmation must be available to the instructor prior to
the missed course event.
With regard to family emergencies, you must provide verifiable
documentation of the emergency. Given the vast array of family emergencies the
instructor will provide precise guidance as to what constitutes adequate
documentation. Unless the emergency is critical you should notify the
instructor in advance of your absence from the scheduled course event. In cases
of critical emergencies, you must notify the instructor within one week of your
absence.
For University-approved curricular and extra-curricular
activities, verifiable documentation is also required. The student should
obtain from the unit or department sponsoring the activity a letter (or class
absence form) indicating the anticipated absence(s). The letter must be
presented to the instructor at least one week prior to the first absence.
In the case of religious holidays, the student should notify the instructor
by the third week of the course of any potential conflicts.
Disabilities
The
Miscellaneous
Links
Assignments
homework
1 (due Tuesday, February 7) suggested answers for
homework 1
writing
assignment 1 (due Thursday, February 16)
First midterm exam
(with answers)
homework
2 (due Thursday, March 23) suggested answers for homework 2
writing
assignment 2 (due Tuesday, April 11)
Final writing
assignment (due May 1)
Second midterm exam (with answers)
Practice Problems
Previous midterm 1, answers for previous
midterm 1
Previous midterm 2,
answers for
previous midterm 2
extra
practice problems for midterm 2 , answers for
practice problems
Course Outline
1. Overview of the developing world slide 1 , slide 2 , lecture 1, lecture 2, slides 3a, lecture 3, slides 3b , lecture 4, slides 4 , lecture 5
Todaro and Smith, Development Economics, chapter 1, chapter 2, and pp.
195-205, 212-225.
Ross-Larson,
B., Edit Yourself, pp. 1-39.
The
World Bank, World Development
Report, 2000/2001,
Chapter 3
Pritchett,
L. “Divergence,
Big Time,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 11(3), Summer
1997, pp. 3-18.
Kaplan,
Robert. 1996. The Ends of the Earth: a Journey at the Dawn of the 21st
Century.
2. Theories of economic growth, old and new lecture 6 , lecture 7, lecture 8
Todaro
and Smith, Development Economics,
Chapter 3
Easterly, W.
The Elusive Quest for Growth, Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 8
3. Urbanization,
Industrialization and the role of history lecture 9, lecture 10, lecture 11, lecture 12, lecture 14, lecture 15 , lecture 16
(slides)
Todaro
and Smith, Development Economics,
Chapters 4 and 7.
Tybout,
James 2000. "Manufacturing Firms in Developing Countries: How Well do they
do, and Why?" Journal of Economic Literature, March 2000, pp.
11-44. (on-line copy).
Brunetti,
Aymo, Gregory Kisunko and
Beatrice Weder, Institutional
Obstacles for Doing Business: Data Description and Methodology of a Worldwide
Private Sector Survey. The World Bank, 1996.
4. The demographic transition lecture 17 , lecture 18 (slides)
Todaro
and Smith, Development Economics,
Chapter 6.
Easterly, W.
The Elusive Quest for Growth, Chapter 5 .
The World Bank, World Development Report, 1984,
Birdsall,
N. "Economic Approaches to Population Growth," in H. Chenery and T.N. Srinivasan, eds,, Handbook of Development Economics, vol. 1,
1988.
5.
Inequality, Human capital and development lecture 19 (slides)
, lecture 20 (slides)
Todaro and Smith, Development Economics, Chapters 5 and 8
World
Development Report 2006: Equity and Development,
6. Trade and development lecture 21 (slides) lecture 22 (slides) lecture 23 (slides) , lecture 24 (slides), lecture 25 (slides)
Todaro
and Smith, Development Economics,
Chapters 12, 13
Newfarmer, R. ed. Trade,
Real WTO web site , Fake
WTO web site
7. Multinationals lecture 26 (slides) lecture 27 (slides) lecture 28 (slides)
Moran, T. Foreign
Direct Investment and Development,” 1998.
Rodrik, Dani "Globalization for
Whom?" Harvard Magazine Online, July-August 2002.
7. Macro management
Todaro
and Smith, Development Economics,
Chapters 14, 15