All programmes > Development Economics

Development Economics (B-KUL-D0M43B)

6 ECTSEnglish39 Second term
Vandewalle Lore
OC Economische wetenschappen FEB Campus Leuven

Aims

The purpose of this course is to familiarise students with the economics of low-income countries and how theoretical and empirical methodologies can be used to analyse some of these countries' economic problems.

On completion of this module, students who attain the appropriate standard will have:
• Gained familiarity with theoretical tools of analysis of development economics.
• Surveyed empirical studies focussing on the main issues affecting the economy of low-income countries.
• Gained an understanding of some relevant policy issues for low-income countries.
• Improved their ability to critically read and assess scientific contributions in the literature on development economics.

Previous knowledge

Prerequisites Master of Economics.
Intermediate macroeconomics, microeconomics and econometrics. A sufficiently strong qualitative and quantitative background. Participants should have some notions of the problems of low-income countries, which can be acquired by reading an introductory development economics textbook.

Is included in these courses of study

Activities

6 ects. Development Economics (B-KUL-D0M43a)

6 ECTSEnglishFormat: Lecture39 Second term
Vandewalle Lore
OC Economische wetenschappen FEB Campus Leuven

Content

The first part of the course focuses on the role of market failures in poverty and underdevelopment. It discusses canonical papers in applied micro theory that lay out the constraints individuals face and recent empirical work evaluating programs that aim at alleviating those constraints. The lectures are organized around the topics of agriculture, entrepreneurship, credit markets and insurance.

The second part of the course covers different topics in advanced microdevelopment economics. The first lecture focuses on the role of savings and its potential as an alternative to microcredit. Other topics covered are poverty traps, health, gender, culture, norms and institutions. The lectures include references to seminal papers (and cover some theoretical work in more detail), but mainly focus on recent contributions to the respective literatures.

 

Course material

The reading list will be made available on Toledo shortly before the start of the module.









 

Format: more information

The course consists of a series of lectures, including substantial discussion.

Evaluation

Evaluation: Development Economics (B-KUL-D2M43b)

Type : Exam during the examination period
Description of evaluation : Written
Type of questions : Open questions
Learning material : Calculator

Explanation


Features of the evaluation

An exam will evaluate students at the end of the academic year. The exam is closed-book and consists of several independent questions covering the different topics studied in class. Students cannot bring any material to the exam, with the exception of a standard calculator.

Determination of final grades

The lecturer assesses the exam, and the examination schedule is communicated through Toledo. The grade is expressed as an integer number between 0 and 20.

Second examination opportunity

During the academic year, a student has two chances to complete the exam: a first time during the first or second examination period, in accordance with the scheduled semester, and a second time during the third examination period. The evaluation criteria of the third examination period are identical to those of the first or second.

Information about retaking exams

Second examination opportunity

During the academic year, a student has 2 chances to complete the exam: a first time during the first or second examination period, in accordance with the scheduled semester, and a second time during the third examination period. The evaluation criteria of the third examination period are identical to those of the first or second examination period.