UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMICS 520
Instructors:
Web page:
Merwan Engineer, Alok Kumar, and Nilanjana Roy
http://web.uvic.ca/~econ520/520F07/econ520.htm
Fall 2007
Description:
This course is concerned with the processes and problems of development in the
economies of the Developing World. In this course, we look at a few select topics in
economic development rather than survey the discipline. An undergraduate survey course
is helpful but not essential background for this course.
The classes for the course will be structured as a seminar. Each of the main topics
will be lead by an instructor(s) who will present key aspects of the literature and lead the
discussion. Students are expected to read select articles and participate in the seminar.
Towards the end of term you will be asked to lead a class seminar in analysing a
particular paper of your choosing. Beyond learning the subject material, an aim of the
seminar approach is to help you to learn how to read, critique and present papers.
Another aim of the seminar approach is to help you find a topic for the course research
paper.
We are fortunate this term to have the following 3 prominent development
economists as visiting speakers: Ashok Kotwal, Sept 14; Michèle Tertilt, Oct 26; and
Siwan Anderson, Nov 2. Students are expected to attend designated talks (each talk
counts towards one class), and you will be asked to write “referee’s reports”.
Grading:
Your final grade will be determined as follows:
Class Participation
Referee’s Reports
Paper Presentation
Paper or Final Exam
20%
20%
20%
40%
100%
comments, corrections, questions
2 reports, 10% each
in last 3 weeks of classes
choice to be declared by Nov 15
Class participation will be evaluated on the quantity and quality of your comments,
corrections and questions. We will focus the readings to essential papers in the syllabus.
Depending on the topic, we may ask you to concentrate on particular issues or assign
simple exercises.
A referee’s report is a critical assessment of a paper with suggestions for
improvements. A typical report is no longer than five double-spaced pages. Reports usually
start by briefly describing the paper and evaluating its contribution to the literature. Then
the report lists both major and minor changes that would improve the paper. Reports will
be on the visiting speaker’s papers.
The paper presentation involves leading the seminar in analysing a paper of your
choice, subject to our approval. You will be evaluated on: explaining the paper’s
contribution to the literature, presentation of the key material in the paper, and leading the
seminar discussion. All members of the seminar will be expected to have read the paper.
We will give you guidance in preparing the presentation.
The course research paper should be no longer than 25 pages (double spaced,
including references and figures) and concentrate on a specific topic. We welcome topics
outside those covered in the seminar. The paper may be either a critical survey or an
attempt to model an issue. If the paper presentation is in the same area as the research
paper, then the research paper should go well beyond the presentation. All topics are
subject to our approval and we will give you guidance in preparing your paper. Papers
must be submitted by the end of first week of exams.
There is a 3-hour final examination for those choosing not to do a research paper.
The examination will consist of four (essay) questions, one question related to each main
syllabus topic and one question related to one of the student presentation or visiting speaker
talks. The display of knowledge of reading beyond those * in the syllabus is needed for an
A+ grade.
Numerical Score / Letter Grade Equivalency:
A+
A
A-
 90
85-89
80-84
B+
B
B-
75-79
70-74
65-69
C+
C
D
60-64
55-59
50-54
F
<50
(No E grades.)
Policies:
Adds/Drops
“Students are responsible for checking their own records and registration status.”
Travel Plans
Students are advised not to make travel plans until after the examination timetable has been
finalized. Students who wish to finalize their travel plans at an earlier date should book
flights that depart after the end of the examination period (see the University Calendar
p.35).
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Plagiarism and Cheating
Students are expected to observe the same standards of scholarly integrity as their
academic and professional counterparts. Students who are found to have engaged in
unethical academic behavior, including the practices described on pages 33-34 of the
Calendar, are subject to penalty by the University.
Identification
Please bring your UVic Identity Card to all quizzes, midterms, and final.
Policy on Inclusivity and Diversity
“The University of Victoria is committed to promoting, providing and protecting a
positive, supportive and safe learning and working environment for all its members.
University Calendar p.10)”
REFERENCES/SYLLABUS
Books: There is no textbook for this course. However, we would encourage you to look at
the following texts.
Todaro and Smith (2006). Economic Development, 9th Edition.
- leading undergraduate text
Ray (1998). Development Economics, 1st Edition.
- leading graduate text
Mookherjee and Ray (2000). Readings in the Theory of Economic Development.
- recent articles with new approaches to understanding development issues
We would also encourage you to read generally. Two stimulating and provocative books by
leading economists are:
Easterly (2001) The Elusive Quest for Growth.
Sachs (2005). The End of Poverty.
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Syllabus:
The following syllabus is tentative and changes may be made as the course progresses. The
key readings in each section are indicated with a star*.
Introduction
*Sen (1989), “Development as Capability Expansion”, reprinted in Readings in
Human Development, ed. Fukuda-Parr and Kumar, 2003, Oxford.
- development economics as more than income growth
Todaro and Smith (2005), Ch.1.
- traditional introduction
Ray (2007) Development Economics
- development economics viewed from an income growth perspective
1.
Measurement of Economic Development
1.1
The Human Development Indexes
Human Development Report(s) 2006
- take a look around and at the “Statistics” and “Composite Indexes …” pages
* Human Development Indexes
- concentrate on the HDI and variants
*Anand and Sen (1994), “Human Development Index: Methodology and
Measurement” , United Nations Development Program, Occasional Papers.
- concentrate on development of the achievement index from the depreviation
index.
* Kakwani, N., 1993, “Performance in living standards; An international
Comparison”, Journal of Development Economics 41,307-336.
Fink S., (2006), “Adjusting the Human Development Index for Health and
Longevity”, University of Victoria MA Paper.
- an example of extending the literature
* Engineer, King, and Roy (2007), “The Human Development Index as a Criterion
for Optimal Planning”, mimeo University of Victoria
1.2.
Inequality and Poverty
*Deaton, A. (1997), The Analysis of Household Surveys, Ch. 3.1
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- this briefly surveys some of the main inequality measures, poverty measures and
has a brief discussion on stochastic dominance approach
Ravallion, M. (1993), “Poverty Comparisons: A guide to Concepts and Methods”,
LSMS, Working paper, Washington, D.C., World Bank, Ch.2.4 – 2.6 (pages 25-57)
- the sections contain detailed discussion on poverty lines, poverty measures and
their decomposition
Cowell, F. (1998), “Measurement of Inequality, Discussion Paper” No. DARP/36,
STICERD, London School of Economics and Political Science, Ch.1-4 (pages 124)
- detailed discussion on measurement of inequality
* Pradhan, M., D. Sahn and S. Younger (2003), “Decomposing World Health
Inequality”, Journal of Health Economics, 22, 271-293.
- empirical paper calculating health inequality among children
Davidson, R. (2006), “Stochastic Dominance”, forthcoming in New Palgrave
Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, Palgrave Macmillan.
- a detailed discussion on stochastic dominance and its relation to poverty measures
and inequality measures
* Tarozzi, A. and A. Mahajan (2007), “Child Nutrition in India in the Nineties”,
Economic Development and Cultural Change, 55, 3, 441-486.
- empirical paper examining the impact of economic reforms on malnutrition among
children in India
2.
Health, Disease and Income Growth
2.1
Statistical Relationships
* Anand, S. and M. Ravallion (1993), “Human Development in Poor Countries: On
the Role of Private Income and Public Services”, Journal of Economic
Perspectives, 7, 133-150
- empirical paper studying the effect of income and public services on health and
education
* Pritchett, L. and L. Summers (1996), “Wealthier is Healthier”, Journal of Human
Resources, 31, 841-868
- empirical paper studying the relationship between income and health
Filmer, D. and L. Pritchett (1999), “The Impact of Public Spending on Health:
Does Money Matter?”, Social Science and Medicine, 49, 1309-1323
- empirical paper that is an extension of the above ideas
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2.2
Growth Theory
* Mankiw G., D. Romer, and D. Weil (1992). "A Contribution to the Empirics of
Economic Growth," Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 107, pp. 407-437.
Ray (2007) Development Economics
2.3
Health, Disease and Economic Growth
* Acemoglu D. and S. Johnson (2006), "Disease and Development: The Effect of
Life Expectancy on Economic Growth"
MIT Working Paper
Weil D. (2006), "Accounting For the Effect of Health on Economic Growth" ,
NBER Working Paper 11455.
Becker G., T. Philipson and R. Soares (2003),“The Quality and Quantity of life
and The Evolution of World Inequality”, Working paper 9765 University of
Chicago.
3.
Labour Markets and Migration
* Todaro, M. (1969), ``A Model of Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment
in Less Developed Countries”, American Economic Review, 59, 138-148.
Harris, J. and M. P. Todaro (1970), ``Migration, Unemployment, and
Development: a Two-Sector Analysis”, American Economic Review, 60, 126142.
* Corden, W. M. and R. Findlay (1975), ``Urban Unemployment, Intersectoral
Capital Mobility, and Development Policy”, 165, 59-78.
* Cole, W. E. and R. D. Sanders (1985), ``Internal Migration and Urban
Employment in the Third World”, American Economic Review, 75, 481-494.
* Mazumdar, Dipak (1983), ``Segmented Labor Markets in LDCs,” American
Economic Review, 73, 254-59.
Banerjee, Biswajit (1983), ``The Role of the Informal Sector in the Migration
Process: A Test of Probabilistic Models and Labour Market Segmentation for
India”, Oxford Economic Papers, 35, 399-422.
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Bencivenga, V. R. and B. D. Smith (1997), ``Unemployment, Migration, and
Growth”, Journal of Political Economy, 105, 582-608.
Carrington, W. J., E. Detragiache, and T. Vishwanath (1996), ``Migration with
Endogenous Moving Costs”, American Economic Review, 86, 909-930
Maloney, W. F. (1999), `` Does Informality Imply Segmentation in Urban Labor
Markets? Evidence from Sectoral Transitions in Mexico”, World Bank Economic
Review, 13, 275-302.
* Maloney, W. F. (2004), ``Informality Revisited”, World Development, 32,
1159-1178.
4.
Papers Presented by Visiting Speakers and Students
Visiting speakers papers
Student presentation papers (to be chosen)
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