Use the Tab and Up, Down arrow keys to select menu items.
Economics 340 will examine some of the major economic issues faced by individuals and governments in poorer countries, and introduce students to the field of development economics. The course will study the concepts and measurement of development, poverty and growth, and how economists use theory, empirical analysis and experiments to address issues in these areas. Topics surveyed will include poverty and inequality, population growth, urbanization and migration, agriculture and rural development, investments in education and health and the role of women, governance and institutions, credit and insurance, foreign investment and aid, and international trade policy. In the process, students will be exposed to the ongoing debates in development economics.
An important theme in the course is the effort economists make to identify which features commonly observed in developing countries are merely correlated with under-development, and which features have causal effects. This is because policies that target causal features are more likely to improve outcomes for people living in developing countries.Please be warned that the assigned readings for Development Economics are substantial.
Through their work in this course, students are expected to be able to: describe the nature and meaning of economic development or underdevelopment, both in general, and as applied to people in specific developing countriesillustrate how economics can be used to create or analyze alternative approaches to promote developmentexplain the major development problems, choices and opportunities currently faced by developing countriesselect, assess and justify specific policy choices that developing countries might make to achieve their economic and social objectivesanalyze, synthesize and evaluate information drawn from the available data and appropriate theoretical tools, and to express their ideas orally and in writing.
ECON207 or ECON208 RP: ECON208
ECON208
Students must attend one activity from each section.
Jeremy Clark
The ‘45% rule’ does not apply to this course. That is, students do not need to reach 45% weighted average across invigilated assessments. Please refer to https://learn.canterbury.ac.nz/course/view.php?id=7744 for further information.Special ConsiderationsUC has a process which allows students to apply for Special Consideration for poor performance in an assessment or a missed assessment due to unforeseen circumstances at the time of the assessment. Special Consideration is not an extension. If you want an extension for an assignment or essay, contact your Course Coordinator.Guidelines for the Use of AI in CourseworkThe use of AI may or may not be permitted in courses. Within a course, permission may vary by assignment. It is the responsibility of the student to inform themselves about assessment conditions and submit work that is their own and that properly acknowledges the work of other people and tools, including generative artificial intelligence tools. It is important to familiarise yourself with the UC Misconduct Procedure Guide for Students. Examples of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to:“Where a student uses a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool for an assessment in a manner that is not expressly permitted or fails to acknowledge the use of a generative AI tool as instructed.”I strongly recommend against students using AI for Assignments 1-2, or the assessed discussions, as they need to master the numerical skills and do the readings themselves that will then be assessed on the (pen and paper) test and exam. For assignments, students must also always show their intermediate steps to receive full credit. Nonetheless, students may choose to use AI (as long as they acknowledge it). The case seems less clear for the group oral presentation, though again students will weaken their abilities to identify the key elements of a published journal article or critically evaluate it themselves if they do not try doing it themselves. It also weakens your ability to evaluate how good a job AI tools like ChatGPT are doing at summarizing or evaluating if you do not hone the skill yourself for comparison. Again however, students may choose to use AI (as long as they acknowledge it).Assessment in Te Reo MāoriIn recognising that Te Reo Māori is an official language of New Zealand, the University provides for students who may wish to use Te Reo Māori in their assessment. If you intend to submit your work in Te Reo Māori you are required to do the following: Read the Assessment in Te Reo Māori Policy and ensure that you meet the conditions set out in the policy. This includes, but is not limited to, informing the Course Coordinator 1) no later than 10 working days after the commencement of the course that you wish to use Te Reo Māori and 2) at least 15 working days before each assessment due date that you wish to use Te Reo Māori.
There is a heavy reading load in ECON340. Readings come from the textbook, but also from influential journal articles in development economics. You are expected to keep up with them.Textbook: Todaro, Michael and Stephen Smith, Economic Development, 13th Edition, Boston: Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2020 Other Readings: See reading list. Made available on the ECON340 Learn site.
Domestic fee $946.00
International fee $4,363.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
This course will not be offered if fewer than 10 people apply to enrol.
For further information see Department of Economics and Finance .