Development Studies

This course develops students' knowledge of the key microeconomic issues facing developing economies, and deepens their familiarity with modern analytical and empirical approaches to development economics with an emphasis on the most recent advances in the field. Students also learn about the use of formal microeconomic modelling in development, the links between formal models and empirics, and the seminal debates in development. Students must have taken a microeconomics course prior to enrollment.

This course examines how international factors influence the economic policies of developing countries. Students evaluate different theoretical debates, with an emphasis on how cross-border flows – such as goods, capital, production, people, and pollution – influence economic policymaking in developing regions. They address several themes that are central to understanding the politics of economic policymaking in emerging economies, including, the legacies of colonialism, trade protectionism and liberalization, globalization and the race to the bottom, the role of the state in development, and the influence of international organizations on developing countries.

This is a special studies course involving an internship with a corporate, public, governmental, or private organization, arranged with the Study Center Director or Liaison Officer. Specific internships vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. A substantial paper or series of reports is required. Units vary depending on the contact hours and method of assessment. The internship may be taken during one or more terms but the units cannot exceed a total of 12.0 for the year.

This course examines the causes and correlates of global poverty, and investigates the policies used to address it. The approach of the course is microeconomic, meaning that it focuses on individual and household behaviors, as well as market failures which lead to sub-optimal choices by these individuals. It covers measurement of poverty and inequality, the role of health and education in poverty, problems in credit, savings, and insurance markets, the causes and effects of migration, environmental degradation, and child labor. 

This course offers interpretations of current (and past) development processes and patterns, specifically in relation to Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Taking into account a range of overlapping dimensions (from social, economic, cultural, and political to institutional), the course explores the multifaceted and layered nature of development and its variegated impacts on the ground. Thus, the course adopts a geographical lens to unpack various economic and societal shifts taking place in developing and emerging countries. Questions addressed in the course include what are the main dimensions of development in the so-called global South? What are the primary drivers of change? What opportunities and barriers exist? What are the main strategies to induce development? What coping strategies are employed? Central to this course is the critical reflection on, and recognition of the multiple meanings of, development and its manifold local expressions within an interconnected world. Entry Requirements: Introduction to Human Geography.

This is an independent research course with research arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific research topics vary each term and are described on a special project form for each student. A substantial paper is required. The number of units varies with the student’s project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student’s special study project form.

This course provides an overview of the economics of Globalization and Development. The first part of the course takes a historical perspective and focuses on globalization and development up to the Industrial Revolution. The course discusses the main driving forces: geography, culture, and institutions. The second part of the course first introduces several models of development and underdevelopment, with an emphasis on capital accumulation, rural-urban migration and the possibility of poverty traps. Next, it moves on to explore the influence that international trade, financial globalization and international migration have on modern development. Finally, the course turns to examining in more detail the agricultural and industrial sectors and what governments can do to facilitate their transformation as well as the development of the whole economy.

The course examines how Europe (the EU, in particular) and Spain have responded to social inequalities, global pandemic pressures, gender inequality, migrations, nationalism(s), climate change, and sustainability. It provides a critical overview of these current challenges at the transnational, regional and national level. The course combines analytical tools and categories stemming from political science, international relations, economics, European Integration studies, public policies analysis and development economics.

This course considers the major economic problems of developing countries. It discusses alternative explanations of underdevelopment and theories of development; major domestic and international aspects of development including population growth, capital accumulation, and international economic relations; and sustainable development.