POLITICAL ECONOMY AND DEVELOPMENT
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2015/2016
- Teacher
- ALFREDO ANTONIO SAAD FILHO
- Credits
- 7
- Curriculum
- Impresa e mercati internazionali
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- SECS-P/06
Training objectives
- The main objectives of this course are to:
• Critically review some of the most important theories of development, highlighting the key differences in methodology, assumptions, logic and policy implications between competing approaches to economic development.
• Identify some of the key economic constraints to development, and the limitations of different economic development strategies.
• Review the relationship between financial processes and economic development from a macro or microeconomic angle, depending on the topic.
• Assess the implications of the transition to neoliberalism for the poor and middle-income countries.
• Discuss different explanations for the onset of the current global crisis and reach insights about the specific problems of poor and middle-income countries.
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
• Identify and understand some of the most important problems and debates in the field of political economy of development.
• Make informed comparisons between processes and problems of economic development across different regions of the world, and between countries in these regions, especially in terms of financial processes in development.
• Understand the economic and political implications of the neoliberal transition for the developing countries.
• Explain the sources and consequences of the current crisis for the poor and middle-income countries.
• Develop their analytical and critical skills, through the ideas discussed in the lectures and through individual research.
• Enhance their communication skills through discussions in class. Prerequisites
- None
Course programme
- This course examines selected aspects of the process of development in today’s world from a political economy perspective. The course addresses primarily (a) the relationship between finance and development, (b) the implications of the transition to neoliberalism for the poor and middle-income countries, and (c) the origins and consequences of the current international crisis. Throughout the course, basic theory is combined with applications to developing countries, using examples from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Special emphasis is given to changes in the international environment over the last thirty years and their implications on the policies and prospects of the poor and middle-income countries. The specific topics covered throughout the course are:
1. Development Theory and Development Policies (7 hours)
2. Comparative Development Strategies (7 hours)
3. Political Economy of Neoliberalism (7 hours)
4. Financialisation and Globalisation (7 hours)
5. Transitions to Neoliberalism (7 hours)
6. The ‘Rise of the South’ (7 hours)
7. The Current Crisis and the Developing Countries (7 hours)
8. Policy Alternatives (7 hours) Didactic methods
- Most of the course is structured upon frontal lectures, where interaction and discussion with the students is highly encouraged
Learning assessment procedures
Reference texts
- Attending students are supposed to follow the instructions given during the lectures. For a full bibliografy of the course, see:
http://www.unife.it/economia/lm.economia/insegnamenti/political-economy-and-development/bibliography
For unattending students, the exam will be based on the following bibliografy:
Available on mini-website in "materiale didattico":
1. Saad-Filho, A. (2005) ‘From Washington to Post-Washington Consensus: Neoliberal Agendas for Economic Development’, in: A. Saad-Filho and D. Johnston (eds.) Neoliberalism: A Critical Reader. London: Pluto Press.
2. Stiglitz, J., Lin, J.Y. and Monga, C. (2013) The Rejuvenation of Industrial Policy. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 6628.
3. Piketty, T. (2014) Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, Introduction.
4. Saad-Filho, A. (2013) The ‘Rise of the South’: Global Convergence at Last? New Political Economy.
5. Saad Filho, A. (2011) ‘Crisis in Neoliberalism or Crisis of Neoliberalism?’, Socialist Register 47, www.socialistregister.com.
Available in library:
6. Di Tommaso, M. R., and S. O. Schweitzer (2013). Industrial Policy in America. Breaking the Taboo. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar (Chapters 1 and 2)
7. Di Tommaso, M. R., L. Rubini, and E. Barbieri (2013). Southern China: Industry, Development and Industrial Policy. Milton Park Abingdon, UK: Routledge (Chapters 1 and 2)
8. Chang, H.-J. 2007. Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism. Random House Business Book (Chapters 1, 5, 6, 7)
