ECGA 6470 Growth and Development

ECGA 6470: Economic growth and development Spring 2010

Course Description Requirements Course Calendar

PhD texts:

Agénor, Pierre-Richard (2004) Economics of Adjustment and Growth, 2^nd ed (HUP) 0674015789

Barro, R. & J. Sala-i-Martin (2004) Economic Growth 2^nd ed (MIT Press) 0262025531

Masters texts:

Jones, Charles I. (2001) Introduction to Economic Growth 2^nd ed (W.W. Norton 0393977455)

Aghion, P and P. Howitt (2009) Economics of Growth (MIT Press, Boston) 0262012634

Recommended (some required reading):

Aghion, P and P. Howitt (1998) Endogenous Growth (MIT Press, Boston) 0262011662

Barro, Robert J. (1998) Determinants of Economic Growth (MIT Press, Boston).

Lucas, R.E. (2002) Lectures on Economics Growth (Harvard Univ. Press)

Parente, S. and E. Prescott (2002) Barriers to Riches (paperback) MIT Press

Rodrik, Dani (2003) In Search of Prosperity (Princeton University Press) 0691092699

Romer, David (2005) Advanced Macroeconomics (chapters 1-3)

Reference & background reading (click to full list below):

Aghion, P. & J.Williamson (1998) Growth, Inequality & Globalization, Cambridge

Bhalla, Surjit (2002) Imagine There’s No Country, www.IIE.com (0-88132-348-9)

Ros, Jaime (2000) Development Theory & Economic Growth (U of Michigan Press)

World Bank, (2000) The Quality of Growth (QOG)

World Bank (1993) The East Asian Miracle (Oxford U Press-- or “TEAM” )

Gylfason, Thorvaldur, 1997, Principles of Economic Growth (Oxford U Press, NY)

Course Description: Why do people living in some countries grow rich, while others remain poor? This course surveys the growth and development literature with an emphasis on long term growth. This year’s special theme is convergence, financial crises and long term growth. The recent financial crisis hit rich countries much harder than poor countries, who kept growing overall, with the result of a closing of the gap in incomes between rich and poor. China, Korea, India and Vietnam all managed to grow rapidly right through the recent crisis. Even Argentina, Venezuela, Nigeria and the Philippines, historically problem growth countries, grew right through, albeit modestly, during the recent downturn. Unlike the last two crises, developing countries have been growing faster than OECD countries for some time now, reducing world inequality and poverty. The first part of the course explores key theories of economic growth and some empirical evidence on long term growth and convergence. The second part of the course turns to growth strategies including the role of trade and capital market openness and/or trade promotion in facilitating growth. The recent growth booms in India and China were associated with both internal reforms and trade liberalization: which reforms were key to these growth miracles in the making. Finally, we turn to the political economy of growth, considering a number of recent arguments that make policy itself endogenous, stressing the role of institutions (property rights and legal systems), geography and natural resource endowments in shaping governance and therefore long term growth performance of many countries, especially in the Tropics

Requirements: The essay based final and midterm account for 40% and 30% of the course grade. A number of problem sets and a country case study contribute the remaining 30%. The case study also serves as a final exam question, it has references and data you gather, but it is not quite a formal paper. After the midterm, a detailed case study description will be distributed. To reduce the weight of midterm and to prepare for the final students are also encouraged to present a brief, optional power point summary of their case study to the class for discussion and comments.