Poverty in Developing Nations
762:303:11482
Fall 2008
Mondays 4:30-7:30
Murray Hall 213
Instructor: Bahareh Sehatzadeh
Email: sehat@rci.rutgers.edu
Office: Bloustein School, Room 551
Office Hours: Mondays 1:30-3:30
Course Overview:
This course provides an introduction to poverty in developing countries. We will examine the
nature and causes of poverty as well as different aspects of it in today’s globalized society. We
hope that our efforts to define poverty and interpret the history of underdevelopment will lead us
to new insights on poverty alleviation strategies. The course will run as a seminar with weekly
readings and assignments. This means that we will spend the larger portion of our time in class
discussing the readings so that you can develop a critical understanding of the subject through an
interactive process of learning. You, as a group, will be able to provide a variety of perspectives,
discuss them, and form your own body of knowledge on poverty, which will hopefully prepare
you for a professional life that can help humanity.
Course Requirements:
- Each student is expected to read (before class) the items listed as “required readings” for each
session. Student’s participation in class discussions is critical due to the seminar nature of the
course and in order to facilitate the discussions, the instructor will ask questions related to each
sessions readings in the class and class participation will count for 40% of the final grade.
- In addition to class participation one or two general questions will be posted on Sakai as
assignments each week in order to evaluate their understanding of the assigned readings. The
answers should be your interpretation and not a copy of the readings. Weekly assignments
should be posted on Sakai and they are due on Sundays at 11:00 pm. These assignments will
count for 30% of your final grade.
- There will be a final project in which you should analyze and present the poverty profile of one
developing country. The final project will count for 30% of your final grade.
* Important: All term papers are due December 1, no matter when you are going to present it.
Weekly Readings
Week 1 (September 8): Introduction
There is no reading assigned for the first session but please come to the class with a definition of
poverty, inequality and development; feel free to refer to any valid definition by well-known
organizations. Also try to think about different aspects of poverty that maybe relevant to you as a
professional in your field of study. The last thing we need for this session is a definition of
developing countries or any other term being used alternatively such as third world.
Week 2 (September 15): Poverty and Inequality in the World
Required Reading
 Besley, Timothy J., and Robin Burgess. "Halving Global Poverty". Journal of Economic
Perspectives, 17, No. 3 (2003): 3-22.
 Rethinking poverty: comparative perspectives from below / edited by Wil Pansters ... [et al.].
Assen, The Netherlands: Van Gorcum, 2000. Chapter 2, pp. 11-38.
 Atkinson, Anthony B., and Francois Bourguignon. "Poverty and Inclusion from a World
Perspective". In Goverance, Equity, and Global Markets: The Annual Bank Conference on
Development Economics - Europe, edited by Joseph E. Stiglitz and Pierre-Alain Muet.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. pp. 151-164.
 Poverty / Ruth Lister. Cambridge, UK; Malden, MA: Polity, 2004. Introduction, chapter 1
and 2, pp. 1-50.
 Deaton, Angus. "Measuring Poverty". In Understanding poverty / edited by Abhijit Vinayak
Banerjee, Roland Bénabou, Dilip Mookherjee. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press,
2006. pp. 3-15.
Week 3 (September 22): Development and Developing Countries
Required Reading
 Southern exposure: international development and the global south in the twenty-first century
/ Barbara P. Thomas-Slayter. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, Inc., 2003. Chapter 1,2,3,4,
pp. 1-74.
 Promises not kept: poverty and the betrayal of Third World development / John Isbister.
Edition: 7th ed. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, 2006. Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, and sections of 5,
pp. 1-106.
 Acemoglu, Daron, and Simon Johnson, and James Robinson. “Understanding Prosperity and
Poverty: Geography, Institutions, and the Reversal of Fortune”. In Understanding poverty /
edited by Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, Roland Bénabou, Dilip Mookherjee. Oxford; New York:
Oxford University Press, 2006. pp. 19-35.
 Engerman, Stanley L., and Kenneth L. Sokoloff. “Colonialism, Inequality, and Long-Run
Paths of Development”. In Understanding poverty / edited by Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee,
Roland Bénabou, Dilip Mookherjee. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. pp.
37-61.
Further Reading
 Raghuram G. Rajan and Luigi Zingales. 2006. “The Persistence of Underdevelopment:
Institutions, Human Capital, or Constituencies?” NBER Working paper, # 12093. March
 Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson. 2001. “The Colonial Origins of
Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation,” American Economic Review 91
(December): 1369-1401. (E)
 Encountering development: the making and unmaking of the Third World / Arturo Escobar.
Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, c1995.
 The white man's burden: why the West's efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so
little good / William Easterly. New York: Penguin Press, 2006.
Week 4 (September 29): Globalization
Required Reading
 In defense of globalization / Jagdish Bhagwati. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Chapter 1, pp. 3-27.
 Larson, Alan. “Freeing Trade to Combat Poverty”. In Addressing Global Poverty, Economic
Perspectives, Electronic Journal of the U.S. Department of State. Volume 6, Number 3. pp.
15-17.
 Logan, B. Ikubolajeh. “Introduction: Globalization and Third World Development in the
Twenty First Century”. In Globalization, the Third World state, and poverty-alleviation in the
twenty-first century / edited by B. Ikubolajeh Logan. Aldershot, Hants, England; Burlington,
VT: Ashgate, c2002. pp. 1-14.
 Spaces of global capitalism / David Harvey. London; New York, NY: Verso, 2006. Chapter
2, pp. 9-68.
 The politics of international economic relations / Joan Edelman Spero, Jeffrey A. Hart. 6th
ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, c2003. Chapter 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, pp. 1-11, 171-298,
385-396.
 Chang, Ha-Joon. “Kicking away the Ladder: Good Policies and Good Institutions in
Historical Perspective”. In Putting development first: the importance of policy space in the
WTO and IFIs / edited by Kevin P. Gallagher. London; New York: Zed Books; New York:
Distributed in the USA exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. pp. 102-125.
Further Reading
 Dark victory: the United States and global poverty / Walden Bello with Shea Cunningham
and Bill Rau; foreword by Susan George. 2nd ed. London: Pluto Press; Oakland, Calif.: Food
First; Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 1999.
 Banerjee, Abhijit /vinayak. “Globalization and All That”. In Understanding poverty / edited
by Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, Roland Bénabou, Dilip Mookherjee. Oxford; New York:
Oxford University Press, 2006.
 Bardhan, Pranab. “The Global Economy and the Poor”. In Understanding poverty / edited by
Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, Roland Bénabou, Dilip Mookherjee. Oxford; New York: Oxford
University Press, 2006.
 Southern exposure: international development and the global south in the twenty-first century
/ Barbara P. Thomas-Slayter. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, Inc., 2003.
Week 5 (October 6): International Organizations and Developing Countries
Required Reading
 Southern exposure: international development and the global south in the twenty-first century
/ Barbara P. Thomas-Slayter. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, Inc., 2003. Chapter 5, pp.
145-180.
 The crisis of poverty and debt in the Third World / Martin Dent, Bill Peters. Aldershot:
Ashgate, 1999. Chapter 4, pp. 39-48.
 A chance for the World Bank / Jozef Ritzen; with a foreword by Joseph Stiglitz. London:
Anthem Press, 2005. Chapter 4, 7, pp. 71-80, 134-147.
 Deeper than debt: economic globalisation and the poor / George Ann Potter. London: Latin
America Bureau, 2000. Chapter 2-6, pp. 8-99.
 The WTO and developing countries / edited by Homi Katrak and Roger Strange. Houndmills
[England]; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Chapter 2, 3, pp. 11-62.
Further Reading
 The World Bank: from reconstruction to development to equity / Katherine Marshall.
London; New York: Routledge, 2008.
 The International Monetary Fund: politics of conditional lending / James Raymond Vreeland.
London; New York: Routledge, 2007.
 The world trade organization: law, practice, and policy / Mitsuo Matsushita, Thomas J.
Schoenbaum, and Petros C. Mavroidis. 2nd ed. Oxford [England]; New York: Oxford
University Press, 2006.
Week 6 (October 13): Rural Poverty, Urban Poverty
Required Reading
 Satterthwaite, David. “Rural and Urban Poverty: Understanding the Differences”. In
Addressing Global Poverty, Economic Perspectives, Electronic Journal of the U.S.
Department of State. Volume 6, Number 3. pp. 33-36.
 Rural poverty in developing countries: implications for public policy / Mahmood Hasan
Khan. Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund, 2001.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues/issues26/index.htm
 John D. Kasarda and Edward M. Crenshaw. “Third World Urbanization: Dimensions,
Theories, and Determinants” Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 17 (1991), pp. 467-501.
 Rural poverty report 2001: the challenge of ending rural poverty. Oxford; New York:
published for IFAD by Oxford University Press, c2001. Chapter 1, 2, pp. 1-68.
 Cities Transformed : demographic change and its implications in the developing world /
Panel on Urban Population Dynamics, Mark R. Montgomery ... [et al.], editors; Committee
on Population, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research
Council of the National Academies. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, c2003.
Chapter 8, pp. 300-354.
 Planet of slums / Mike Davis. London; New York: Verso, 2006. Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, pp. 1-94.
Further Reading
 Shadow cities: a billion squatters, a new urban world / Robert Neuwirth. New York:
Routledge, 2005.
 Escaping poverty's grasp: the environmental foundations of poverty reduction / David Reed.
London; Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2006.
Week 7 (October 20): Poverty and Health in Developing Countries
Required Reading
 Deaton, Angus. "Health, Inequality, and Economic Development". Journal of Economic
Literature 41 (2003): 113-158.
 Tirole, Jean. “Intellectual Property and Health in Developing Countries”. In Understanding
poverty / edited by Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, Roland Bénabou, Dilip Mookherjee. Oxford;
New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. pp. 303-317.
 Mayne, Ruth. “The TRIPs Agreement and Access to Medicines: an NGO Perspective”. In
The WTO and developing countries / edited by Homi Katrak and Roger Strange. Houndmills
[England]; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. pp. 146-164.
 Basu, Alaka Malwade. “Poverty and AIDS, the Vicious Circle”. In Population and poverty in
the developing world / edited by Massimo Livi-Bacci, Gustavo De Santis. Oxford: Clarendon
Press; Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. pp. 144-160.
 Satterthwaite, David. “Rapid Urbanization and the Urban Environment”. In Population and
poverty in the developing world / edited by Massimo Livi-Bacci, Gustavo De Santis. Oxford:
Clarendon Press; Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. pp. 189-216.
Further Reading
 Patel, Vikram. “Poverty, Inequality, and Mental Health in Developing Countries”. In
Poverty, inequality and health: an international perspective / edited by David A. Leon and
Gill Walt. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
 Sen, Amartya. “Economic Progress and Health”. In Poverty, inequality and health: an
international perspective / edited by David A. Leon and Gill Walt. Oxford; New York:
Oxford University Press, 2001.
 Gwatkin, Davidson R. “Poverty and Inequalities in Health within Developing Countries:
Filling the Information Gap”. In Poverty, inequality and health: an international perspective /
edited by David A. Leon and Gill Walt. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Week 8 (September 27): Population and Food
Required Reading
 David W. Smith. “Urban Food Systems and the Poor in Developing Countries” Transactions
of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, Vol. 23, No. 2 (1998), pp. 207-219.
 Osmani, Siddiqur R. “Famine, Demography, and Endemic Poverty”. In Population and
poverty in the developing world / edited by Massimo Livi-Bacci, Gustavo De Santis. Oxford:
Clarendon Press; Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. pp. 61-83.
 Southern exposure: international development and the global south in the twenty-first century
/ Barbara P. Thomas-Slayter. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, Inc., 2003. Chapter 7, 8, pp.
215-277.
 Schultz, T. Paul. “Fertility and Income”. In Understanding poverty / edited by Abhijit
Vinayak Banerjee, Roland Bénabou, Dilip Mookherjee. Oxford; New York: Oxford
University Press, 2006. pp. 125-141.
 Eswaran, Mukesh. “Fertility in Developing Countries”. In Understanding poverty / edited by
Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, Roland Bénabou, Dilip Mookherjee. Oxford; New York: Oxford
University Press, 2006. pp. 143-160.
Week 9 (November 3): The Effect of Poverty on Women, Children and Human Rights
Required Reading
 Poverty / Ruth Lister. Cambridge, UK; Malden, MA: Polity, 2004. Chapter 7, pp. 158-175.
 David Gordon, Christina Pantazis, Peter Townsend. “Child Rights and Child Poverty in
Developing Countries”. Summary Report to UNICEF. pp. 1-23.
 “Understanding Poverty from a Gender Perspective” Women and Development Unit of the
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC - SERIE Mujer y
Desarrollo. June 2004. pp. 9-15.
Week 10 (November 10): Poverty Alleviation
Required Reading
 Kanbur, Ravi. “Economic Policy, Distribution, and Poverty: The Nature of Disagreements”.
In Growth, inequality, and poverty: prospects for pro-poor economic development / edited by
Anthony Shorrocks and Rolph van der Hoeven. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. pp.
13-28.
 Øyen, Else. “A Methodological Approach to Best Practices”. In Best practices in poverty
reduction: an analytical framework / Else Øyen; in co-operation with Alberto Cimadamore ...
[et al.]. London; New York: Zed Books; New York: Distributed in the USA exclusively by
Palgrave, 2002. pp. 1-28.
 Engberg-Pedersen, Lars, and Neil Webster. “Introduction to Political Space”. In In the name
of the poor: contesting political space for poverty reduction / edited by Neil Webster and
Lars Engberg-Pedersen. London; New York: Zed Books; New York: Distributed in the USA
exclusively by Palgrave, 2002. pp. 1-29.
 Engberg-Pedersen, Lars, and Neil Webster. “Poliical Agencies and Spaces”. In In the name
of the poor: contesting political space for poverty reduction / edited by Neil Webster and
Lars Engberg-Pedersen. London; New York: Zed Books; New York: Distributed in the USA
exclusively by Palgrave, 2002. pp. 255-271.
 Poverty reduction that works: experience of scaling up development success / edited by Paul
Steele, Neil Fernando and Maneka Weddikkara. London; Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2008.
Overview.
 Reducing poverty and sustaining the environment: the politics of local engagement / edited
by Stephen Bass ... [et al.]. London; Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2005. Conclusion, pp. 280-310.
 Social dialogue and poverty reduction strategies / general editors, Graeme J. Buckley,
Giuseppe Casale. Geneva: International Labour Office, 2006. Chapter1-3, pp. 3-75.
 Aghion, Philippe, and Beatriz Armendáriz Aghion. “New Growth Approach to Poverty
Alleviation”. In Understanding poverty / edited by Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, Roland
Bénabou, Dilip Mookherjee. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. pp. 73-83.
Further Reading
 Practitioners and poverty alleviation: influencing urban policy from the ground up / edited by
Sue Jones and Nici Nelson. London: ITDG, 2005.
 Social dialogue and poverty reduction strategies / general editors, Graeme J. Buckley,
Giuseppe Casale. Geneva: International Labour Office, 2006.
 The end of poverty: economic possibilities for our time / Jeffrey D. Sachs. New York:
Penguin Press, 2005.
Week 11 (November 17): Looking at Poverty in Different Regions of the World
Guest speakers will talk about poverty in different regions of the world.
Week 12 (November 24): A Review
No reading assigned for this session, just be prepared to talk about what you have learned so far.
Week 13 (December 1): Term Paper Presentations
All the term papers are due this day, even if you are going to present it next week.
Week 14 (December 8): Term Paper Presentations