ECONOMICS 347A

"No society can be flourishing and happy of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable". ---Adam Smith

In this course, we will try to understand why there is still so much poverty in the world, and what can and should be done to alleviate it. We will approach each of our subjects as follows: What do we know and how do we know it? Are the "facts" consistent with any theory? Can we use the theory to devise policy? Have these policies worked? What can the rich countries do? Each subject will be organized around a number of Big Ideas which are listed below. Required text: Perkins et. al., Economics of Development, 5^th edition (P). Required supplementary texts: Meier and Rauch, Leading Issues in Economic Development, 7^th edition (M), and LaPierre, The City of Joy (paperback).

DATES	SUBJECT	READINGS	BIG IDEAS
Aug 24	Introduction	P ch 1 M pp 8-11	What is Economic Development?
Aug 26	Starting Economic Growth	P ch 2, M 80-95	Are there non-economic barriers? Is history a guide?
Aug 31-Sep 2	Development and Human Welfare	P ch 4 M p 35, 401-403	Values. Measurement Issues. Poverty and Inequality
Sep 9-14	The Role of the State	P ch 5 M 426-433	What should the state do? How can the state do it well? The anatomy of market failure: public goods, externalities, etc. Infrastructure. Regulation. Privatization. Redistribution. Corruption.
Sep 14	H. De Soto lecture	handout	Property Rights
Sep 16	Quiz
Sep 16-21	Population	P ch 7 M 241-248	Malthus. The demographic transition. Models of fertility. Reducing fertility. China and India.
Sep 23	Education+Training	P ch 9 M 223-227	How important is human capital? What kinds are needed? The Brain Drain.
Sep 28-30	Health and Nutrition	P ch 10 M 249-253,257-261,	Malnutrition. Public Health. AIDS
Oct 5	Film		Parasitic Diseases
Oct 7-12	Fiscal Policy	P ch 12	Revenues, expenditures, and deficits. SOEs.Tax effort and evasion
Oct 14	Test
Oct 19	Money and Inflation	P ch 13 M 133-137	The role of the central bank. Hyperinflation. Mobilizing savings. Financial deepening. Currency Boards and Dollarization
Oct 21-26	Peasants and Agriculture	P ch 15 M 450-455, 336-338	The agricultural production function. Transforming traditional agriculture. Land reform. Pricing policy. Self-sufficiency. Food aid and Famine
Oct 28	Industry	P ch 17 M 289-292	Linkages. Light or. heavy? First world barriers. Migration and urbanization. The NICs.
Nov 2	Foreign Capital Flows and External Debt	P ch 14 M 209-210, 42-47	Does foreign aid work? The World Bank and the IMF. MNC PFI. Asian Contagion.
Nov 4	Quiz
Nov 4-9	International Trade+Integration	P ch 16,18 M 168-169, 191-192	Trade as an engine of growth. Trade restrictions. Primary product exports and elasticities. NAFTA. Regional integration.
Nov 11	International Finance		Exchange rates: fixed or flexible? Exchange controls
Nov 16	Sustainable Development	P ch 6 M pp 520-530	Greenhouse effect. Pollution. Deforestation.
Nov 18	Catch up Day
Nov 23-Dec 9	PRESENTATIONS	LIST	Presentation Schedule
Dec 16	FINAL EXAM		7:30 AM

CLASS DISCUSSION: There will be a 10-15 minute class discussion every day at the beginning of class, in which we will review current events. Class participation during the remainder of the period is also expected.

CITY OF JOY: You can read this book at your own pace, but I will expect you to have read half of it by the hour test, and all of it by the final. It will be discussed periodically in class. A number of students have found this to be one of the most moving books they have ever read.

PROJECTS: Every student will prepare a project during the semester for oral presentation during the last two weeks of the term. A written version must also be submitted at the same time. Topics must be selected in consultation with me. Instructions will be discussed in class.

MAKE UP POLICY: If you miss a quiz, test, or your paper/presentation, you will receive a zero unless you have provided advance notification and received approval for a makeup, or you have a medical or family emergency, and provide documentation. (Effective Fall, 2001: If the medical emergency consists solely of a visit to the Student Health Center, a note from the attending physician is REQUIRED for an excused absence, makeup exam, or rescheduled presentation.)

Effective Fall, 2001: Family emergencies MUST be reported immediately to Dr James Slager, Room 100, Student Health Service Center (529-3051). It is Dr Slager's official duty to notify all your professors, including me, of the nature of the emergency. This notification is necessary and sufficient documentation, and relieves you of the task of notifying your professors individually..

ATTENDANCE: Students who miss the first and/or second class without excused absences will be dropped from the course. Attendance will be taken periodically. More than 2 recorded unexcused absences may result in the application of Section 701 (d) of Undergraduate Academic Regulations. For valid excuses, see Make Up Policy, above. If you are unable to attend class, however, it is your responsibility to find out from other students what was covered that day. Do NOT ask me for this information. (added 10/21/04)

GRADING: Project paper: (100 points) Project presentation: (100 points) Class participation:(100 points) Hour test: (100 points) 2 Quizzes (40 points each), Final (40 points) for a total of 520 points. Grade ranges: >95%=A+; 92.5%-95%=A; 90%-92.5%=A-; 87.5%-90%=B+; 82.5%-87.5%=B; 80%-82.5%=B-; 77.5%-80%=C+; 72.5-77.5%=C; 70%-72.5%=C-; etc Final Grades will be provided by the Registrar, not by me.

LISTSERV: We will have our own listserv discussion group accessible from my home page (http://www.sba.muohio.edu/seiverda). Everyone needs to post at least once per week. If you never post, you class participation grade will be seriously impacted.