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412 Economic Development Reference #16605 Fall 1999 Class meets in Rm 205 Royall Hall at 7:00pm W
COURSE SYLEBUS ECONOMICS 412/512 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Fall, 1999 Instructor: John O. Ward, Ph.D. Class Time: 7:00pm-9:45 Wednesday Office Hours: 11:30-12:30, Tues. and Thurs. and by appointment. Office: Rm. 310 Haag Hall The purpose of this course is to provide the student with a basic understanding of the forces that have shaped the world economy during the past two centuries. That world economy is characterized today by great disparity in wealth, health, population growth and political freedom among the world's nations. A minority of those nations are highly industrialized and offer their citizens high standards of living and economic security ( the developed nations), A much larger group of nations have made considerable progress towards the goals of economic security and high standards of living ( the developing nations), and a sizable minority of nations have seemingly been incapable of achieving any signicant progress towards improving the welfare of their populations. SYLLABUS Texts: E. Wayne Nafziger, The Economics of Developing Countries, 2nd ed., Prentice Hall, 1990, and A. J. Kondonassis, Major Issues of Global Development, University of Oklahoma, 1991. Many theories have been offered to explain why the disparities in welfare among nations persist. Adam Smith, in the Wealth of Nations, first treated this dilemma in 1776. Alternative paradigms of structuralism and Marxism have suggested that the dilemma rests on the foundation of capitalism. Others have suggested that such factors as climate or culture are the explanatory variables for this disparity. In this course we will explore the concepts of development and growth, as they relate to the world economy today, from the perspectives of traditional orthodox theory and alternative theories of development and growth. We will also examine the elements of development planning as a practical extension of economic theory. Class participation is an important element of this class and such participation will be factored into your grade. For graduate students taking this class for graduate credit I will expect a high level of class participation and I will assign a term paper of 10 to 15 pages on a topic mutually agreed upon during the first month of class. There will be two exam, largely consisting of short essay and definition questions and a final exam which , will be an essay exam. Each tests will count for 100 points and the final will count for 150 points. Class participation and attendance will count for 50 points. The term paper for graduate students will count for 100 points. Grades will be determined by a curve based on the highest class grade equal to 100 %. We will use movies and guest lecturers to enrich the class and these special events will be announced at least two weeks prior to their presentation. Please check your fall schedule for important dates, including dates for holidays, withdrawal from class and final exam. If an exam is missed, that exam must be made-up by the next class period unless special extension is granted. Basic reading assignments will be taken from the two assigned texts for the class. However, I will distribute special assignments on a regular basis and you are expected to read these materials as class assignments. Your outline for reading is as follows: PART ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND FACTORS OF GROWTH Nafziger, Part One and Part Two, and Kondonassis, Chapters 1-5. TEST PART TWO: DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY Nafziger, Part 3 and Part 4, and Kondonassis, Chapters 6-13 TEST PART THREE: DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES Nafziger, Part Five and Kondonassis, Chapters 14-19 FINAL [Top of Page | Ward Home Page | Economics Courses | Entry Page]