Unit information: Globalisation and Development in 2018/19

Unit name	Globalisation and Development
Unit code	ECON10053
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. De Magalhaes
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	GCSE Grade A Maths
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Economics
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This course provides an overview of the economics of Globalisation and Development. The first part of the course will take a historical perspective and focus on globalisation and development up to the Industrial Revolution. We will discuss 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 globalisation 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.

• Why do some countries grow more quickly than others?
• Is inequality a necessary precondition to growth?
• What role should the State play in economic development?

Whilst these questions are difficult the course does not assume any previous knowledge of economics. Some basic (GCSE level) mathematics is used through the course.

Intended Learning Outcomes

To develop a coherent understanding of the economic causes and consequences of globalisation and development. To evaluate the different theories that explain development. To be able to apply simple economic analysis to some of the problems facing present-day less developed countries. To be able to critically evaluate developmental policy undertaken by domestic governments and international organisations.

Students will develop an understanding of several basic economic models and concepts, and the ability to critically compare them:

• The principle of Comparative Advantage.

• The role of trade and specialization in determining growth.

• The Malthusian model of population growth.

• The Importance of Institutions for growth.

• The Solow model of economic growth.

Teaching Information

21 one hour lectures and 9 one hour classes

Assessment Information

Formative assessment:

• 1 essay discussing a relevant topic. Essay length 1000-1500 words. This essay will allow students to analyse and compare, for example, an institutional perspective and a trade (geography) perspective to the same event.

• 1 case study of a particular developing country. Essay length 1000-1500 words. In this essay the student is asked to use the tools and the information presented during the course to analyse the growth trajectory of a country.

Summative assessment:

• Unseen 2 hour exam at the end of the relevant teaching block (100%). This will assess all of the ILOs.

Reading and References

• Kenneth Pomeranz, The Great Divergence, Princeton University Press, 2000

• Robert C. Allen, The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective, Cambridge University Press, 2009

• Michael P Todaro and Stephen Smith, Economic Development, 9th ed. Pearson, 2005

• Gerald M. Meier and James E. Rauch (eds.), Leading Issues in Economic Development, 8th ed., Oxford Univ. Press, 2004

• Joseph Stiglitz, Globalisation and Its Discontents, Penguin, 2002

• Martin Wolf, Why Globalisation Works, Yale Univ. Press, 2004