Topics to be Covered
This module addresses two overarching themes central to development economics in particular and social science in general. The contribution covering this theme deals with the far-reaching influence of the natural environment and natural resources in the long-term development of societies and economies. Going back thousands of years, this analysis identifies the ultimate sources of disparities in the economic development of societies in the kinds of plants and animals available in particular geographic areas. The second overarching theme in this section has to do with economic institutions in the broadest sense. Ranging widely over economic institutions such as property rights, regulatory burdens, corruption, and the failures of centralized economic planning, these contributions touch on many of the bedrock issues in the field of economics, development economics, and economic history. Questions explored in the presentations include why individual rather than collective property tends to produce the largest returns on investment, why lack of formal recognition of individual property rights suppresses economic growth, why centralized planning and production without regard for pricing information tends to misallocate resources and produce shortages, and why certain kinds of industrial policies can work well in developing countries where labor is relatively inexpensive.
Learning Outcomes
In this module students will gain a basic familiarity with critical and fundamental issues in development economics, as well as general economics and economic history. After their exposure to these contributions students will better understand the basic geographic and natural resource foundations for economic development. They will also gain insights into the basic institutional ingredients of a functioning market economy oriented towards economic development.
