Wellesley College

WELLESLEY COLLEGE Economics 220 Development Economics, Fall 2006

David L. Lindauer Office Hours: PNE 422 Wednesday, 4-5:30; Extension 2159 Friday, 12:00-1:00; Email: DLINDAUER and by appointment

Economics 220, Development Economics, is an introduction to the study of the economic circumstances and problems of low and middle-income economies. The course considers the contributions economic analysis can make to explaining why some nations are poor and others rich. It reviews alternative theories of economic growth and examines a number of specific issues central to the lives of the more than five billion people who live in the developing world.

COURSE REQUIRMENTS

Economics 101 and 102 are prerequisites for Econ 220; Economics 103 is recommended. One in-class examination covering Sections I-IV of the syllabus will be given on or about the thirteenth class meeting. A final exam, covering Sections V-IX, will be given as a self-scheduled exam during Final Exam Period. There will be numerous weekly assignments, including problem sets, short essays and brief research assignments. You also will be expected to complete four map quizzes that require identification of countries in the various regions of the developing world. The hourly and final exams each count for 35 percent of the final grade, the weekly assignments 25 percent and the map quizzes 5 percent.

Dwight H. Perkins, Steven Radelet and David L. Lindauer, Economics of Development 6th Edition (W. W. Norton, 2006). (In the syllabus this volume is referred to as TEXT.) e-RESOURCES

Economics 220 has a dedicated course conference, ECON220-F06. Copies of the syllabus and assignments will be posted on the conference. Articles and information will be posted as well. Students are expected to check the conference regularly. The conference should be used by all members of the class to raise questions and exchange information.

In addition to the textbook, course readings are drawn from a variety of sources. Journal articles generally are available online. Go to the Wellesley College Library’s Catalogue and search for the journal by its title. Some articles are available from the web with URLs indicated on the syllabus. Other items may be found in the e-Reserves folder in the ECON220-F06 conference. Throughout the course you are expected to make active use of assigned readings.

1 I. What is Economic Development? (2.5 weeks)

TEXT, Chapter 1, “Patterns of Development,” pp. 3-30; and Chapter 2, “Measuring Economic Growth and Development,” pp. 31-57.

J. Sachs, “Sachs to World Bank Staff: MDGs are Achievable,” March 22, 2005 (video); http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/about/director/index.html#video

J. Sachs, ‘Can Extreme Poverty Be Eliminated?” Scientific American (September 2005), pp. 56-65.

United Nations Development Programme, "Defining and Measuring Human Development," Human Development Report, 1990, pp. 9-16. http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/1990/en/

A. Kelley, "The Human Development Index: Handle with Care," Population and Development Review 17 (June 1991), pp. 315-24.

M. Clemens and T. Moss, “What’s Wrong with the Millennium Development Goals?” CGD Brief (September 2005); http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/3940

L. Pritchett, “Divergence, Big Time,” Journal of Economic Perspectives (Summer 1997), pp. 3-17.

P. Krugman, “Enemies of the WTO,” Slate (Nov. 23, 1999); http://slate.msn.com/? id=56497

II. What Determines Economic Growth? (1 week)

TEXT, Chapter 3, “Economic Growth: Concepts and Patterns,” pp. 59-102.

R. Heilbroner, "The Gloomy Presentiments of Parson Malthus and David Ricardo" in The Worldly Philosophers, any edition (Simon and Schuster). (e-Reserves and Clapp Library stacks)

J. Diamond, “Why Did Human History Unfold Differently on Different Continents For The Last 13,000 Years?,” www.edge.org/3rd_culture/diamond/diamond_p1.html

R. Hausmann, “Prisoners of Geography,” Foreign Policy (January/February 2001), pp. 44-53.

D. Acemoglu, “Root Causes,” Finance & Development (June 2003), pp. 27-30. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2003/06/pdf/Acemoglu.pdf

J. Sachs, “Institutions Matter, but Not for Everything,” Finance & Development (June 2003), pp. 38-41. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2003/06/pdf/sachs.pdf

The Economist, “The road to hell is unpaved,” (December 19, 2002).

2 III. Economic Growth: Theory and Empirics (1 week)

TEXT, Chapter 4, “Theories of Economic Growth,” pp. 103-135.

M. Wolf, “Why Is China Growing So Slowly?,” Foreign Policy (January 2005), pp. 51-52.

IV. "The Washington Consensus" (2 weeks)

TEXT, Chapter 5, “”States and Markets,” pp. 149-186.

L. Summers and V. Thomas, "Recent Lessons of Development," World Bank Research Observer 8 (July 1993), pp. 241-54. (e-Reserves)

J. Williamson, "The Washington Consensus Revisited," Economic and Social Development into the XXI Century, L. Emmerij, ed. (IDB: 1997), pp.48-69. (e-Reserves)

D. Yergin and J. Stanislaw, “The Agony of Reform,” Commanding Heights (2002), (video; Knapp Reserves)

Harvard Business School Case #9-703-050, "India on the Move" (2003), pp. 1-29.

N. Birdsall, D. Rodrik and A. Subramanian, “How to Help Poor Countries,” Foreign Affairs (July/August 2005).

D. Lindauer and L. Pritchett, “What’s the Big Idea? The Third Generation of Policies for Economic Growth,” Economia (Fall 2002), pp. 1-18.

V. Inequality and Poverty (1.5 weeks)

TEXT, Chapter 6, “Inequality and Poverty,” pp. 189-236.

A. Deaton, “Measuring Poverty,” http://www.wws.princeton.edu/%7Edeaton/poverty.html

The Economist, “The mountain man and the surgeon,” (December 20, 2005).

Hernando de Soto, “Globalization: Breaking Barriers to Participation,” 2004 Albert H. Gordon Lecture, Institute of Politics, Harvard University (February 19, 2004) (video); http://ksgaccman.harvard.edu/iop/events_forum_listview.asp?Type=K

VI. Population (1.5 weeks)

TEXT, Chapter 7, “Population,” pp. 237-274.

B. Easterly, “Cash for Condoms, ” The Elusive Quest for Growth (MIT: 2001), pp. 87-99. (e-reserves)

J. Tierney, "Fanisi's Choice," Science 86, (Jan/Feb 1986), pp. 26-42. (e-Reserves)

3 S. Klasen, “Missing Women,” D. Clark, ed., Elgar Companion to Development Studies (Edward Elgar: 2006), pp. 389-95. (Econ220 Conference)

“World in the Balance: The People Paradox,” Nova (2004) (video; Knapp Reserves)

VII. Human Resources (1.5 weeks)

M. Wasserman, “Eliminating Child Labor,” Regional Review (Second Quarter 2000), Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, pp. 151-8. http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/nerr/rr2000/q2/kidlabor.htm

E. Edmonds, “Understanding Child Labor: Patterns, Types, and Causes,” in U.S. Department of State, Ending Abusive Child Labor, eJournal USA: Economic Perspectives (May 2005); http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/ites/0505/ijee/edmonds.htm

TEXT, Chapter 8, “Education,” pp. 275-314; and Chapter 9, “Health,” pp. 315-362.

M. Kremer et al., “Teacher Absence in India: A Snapshot,” Journal of the European Economic Association (April-May 2005), pp. 658-667. (e-reserves)

A. Banerjee and E. Duflo, “Addressing Absence,” Journal of Economic Perspectives (Winter 2006), pp. 117-132. (e-reserves)

VIII. Globalization (1 week)

TEXT, Chapter 19, “Trade and Development,” pp. 709-756.

D. Rodrik, “Trading in Illusions,” Foreign Policy (March/April 2001), pp. 55-62.

P. Krugman, “In Praise of Cheap Labor,” Slate (March 20, 1997); http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/smokey.html

W. Langewiesche, “The Shipbreakers,” The Atlantic Monthly, (August 2000), pp. 31-49.

IX. Foreign Aid (1 week)

TEXT, Chapter 14, “Foreign Aid,” pp. 519-562.

The Economist, “Aid to Africa: The $25 billion question,” (June 30, 2005).

W. Easterly, “The Big Push Déjà Vu: A Review of Jeffrey Sachs’s The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time,” Journal of Economic Literature (March 2006), pp. 96-105. (e-reserves)