Tribhuvan University
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
MPhil in Rural Development
Micro-Syllabus
| Course Title: Economics of Development | |
| MPhil Leading PhD | Full Marks: 100 |
| Course Code: RDS 702 | Year: I |
| Credit Hours: 3 (48 hours) | Semester: I |
Course Description
This course deals with the principal issues of economic development. Contents include concepts of growth and development, different growth models, development doctrines, inequality and poverty, health and education, macroeconomic policies for development and growth, agriculture and trade in the context of economic growth and development.
Learning Objectives
This course aims to impart theoretical and practical knowledge to tackle key issues relating to development in broad sense. It extends and deepens scholars’ understanding and application of concepts and principles of economics of development. It also equips scholars with the theories and principles which are necessary to analyze problems of economic development, it introduces relevant empirical work and analyses policy issues in the light of both economic theory and empirical evidence. It seeks to bring out the fundamental linkages between economic growth and human development. It acquaints the scholars with the role of fiscal and monetary policies, and foreign aid in economic development. It also aims to familiarize the scholars the critical role of agriculture and trade in economic development of developing countries.
| Unit I: Growth and Development (12 hrs) | |
| 1.1 | Measuring Economic Growth and Development |
| 1.2 | Theories and Models of Economic Growth: Harrod-Domar, Solow and Swan, Endogenous Growth |
| 1.3 | Components of growth: Factor accumulation and Productivity; East Asian Miracle. (Example from Nepal’s GDP growth Trends, and Investment/Capital formation over the period 2000/01-2020) |
| 1.4 | The History and Evolution of the Development Doctrine, 1950–Present |
| Readings | Central Bureau of Statistics (…..). National Accounts of Nepal 2000/01 & onwards
Nissanke, M. &Ocampo, J. A. (Eds.). (2019). The Palgrave Handbook of Development Economics. Palgrave, Macmillan. Perkins, D. H., Radelet, S., Lindauer, D. L., & Block, S. A. (2013). Economics of Development (7th ed.). USA: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. Ray, D. (1998). Development Economics. Princeton, Jersey: Princeton University Press. Todaro, M. P., & Smith, S. C. (2015). Economic Development (12th eds.). New Delhi: Pearson. |
| Unit II: Distribution and Human Resources (12 hrs) | |
| 2.1 | Inequality: Measuring Inequality; Patterns of Inequality; Growth and Inequality. Poverty: Measuring Poverty (Income/Expenditure vs Multi-dimensional Poverty); Strategies to Reduce Poverty. |
| 2.2 | Malthusian Population trap; population and accumulation; Population and productivity |
| 2.3 | Education and Health (with indices and indicators from Nepal) |
| 2.4 | Agency Role of Institutions and Civil Society |
| Readings | Acemoglu, D. & Robinson, J. (2008). The Role of Institutions in Growth and Development. Washington, DC: DFID, Sida& World Bank.
Perkins, D. H., Radelet, S., Lindauer, D. L., & Block, S. A. (2013). Economics of Development (7th ed.). USA: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. Todaro, M. P., & Smith, S. C. (2015). Economic Development (12th eds.). New Delhi: Pearson. Tusalem, R.F. (2007). A Boon or a Bane? The Role of Civil Society in Third- and Fourth-Wave Democracies. International Political Science Review, 28(3), 361–386. |
| Unit III: Macroeconomic Policies for Development (12 hrs) | |
| 3.1 | Market Failure and Role of the Government |
| 3.2 | The Washington Consensus; Pros and cons of Privatization, Liberalization and Globalization |
| 3.3 | Fiscal Policy: Objectives and Instruments |
| 3.4 | Role of Financial Intermediaries in Economic Development; Monetary Policy: Objectives and Instruments/Tools |
| 3.5 | Foreign Aid and Foreign Direct Investment (with examples of Nepal) |
| 3.6 | Sustainable Development Goals: Country Road Map of Nepal |
| Readings | National Planning Commission (NPC). (2017a). Nepal’s Sustainable Development Goals: Baseline Report. Nepal: Government of Nepal.
National Planning Commission (NPC). (2017b). Nepal’s Sustainable Development Goals: Baseline Report. Nepal: Government of Nepal. Perkins, D. H., Radelet, S., Lindauer, D. L., & Block, S. A. (2013). Economics of Development (7th ed.). USA: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. |
| Unit IV: Agriculture and Trade (12 hrs) | |
| 4.1 | Role of Agriculture in Economic Growth and Poverty Alleviation; Schultz’s Theory of Agriculture Transformation and Rural Development; The Microeconomics of Farmer Behaviour and Agricultural Development |
| 4.2 | Core Requirements of a Strategy of Agricultural and Rural Development |
| 4.3 | Green Revolution in Agriculture Development (with example from China and India) |
| 4.4 | Trade and Development: The Benefits of Trade, Winners and Losers, Trading Primary Products (with example of Nepal’s export, import trade and trade deficit); Free vs protected trade policies |
| Readings | Lundahl, M. (1987). ‘Efficient but Poor’, – Schultz’, Theory of Traditional Agriculture. Scandinavian Economic History Review, 35(1), 108-129.doi: 10.1080/03585522.1987.10408083
NRB Quarterly Economic Bulletins for Nepal’s Foreign Trade Data Perkins, D. H., Radelet, S., Lindauer, D. L., & Block, S. A. (2013). Economics of Development (7th ed.). USA: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. Saha, M. &Schmalzer, S. (2016). Green-Revolution Epistemologies in China and India: Technocracy and Revolution in the Production of Scientific Knowledge and Peasant Identity. BJHS: Themes 1, 145–167, doi:10.1017/bjt.2016.2 Todaro, M. P., & Smith, S. C. (2015). Economic Development (12th eds.). New Delhi: Pearson. |