Economic Growth Models

Presentation

This course aims to integrate the different but complementary perspectives of economic growth and development, allowing to study the quantitative increase of productive capacity, as well as the qualitative transformation of the economic and social structures. The course is divided in three parts with different objectives:

Objective 1 - Know the definitions, measurements, data and facts of the two phenomena; understand the economic and social reality of countries at different stages of development.

Objective 2 - Study different theories of economic growth, the factors determining the rate of economic growth and the success or failure of some development strategies.

Objective 3 - Study from an empirical perspective of different topics relevant to development and to the fight against poverty and inequality in the least developed countries.

Part of this Programme

Economics

Level of Qualification|Semesters|ECTS

| Semestral | 5

Year | Type of course unit | Language

3 |Mandatory |Português

Code

ULHT32-17117

Recommended complementary curricular units

Public Economics, Econometrics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics

Prerequisites and co-requisites

n/a

Professional Internship

Não

Syllabus

0. Presentation and Introduction

1. Growth and Development: Definitions, Measures, and Facts

2. Economic Growth

   2.1 Introduction to Economic Growth

   2.2 Solow model

   2.3 Human Capital and Economic Growth

   2.4 Population and Economic Growth

   2.5 Endogenous Growth Theories

   2.6 Technology transfer

   2.7 The Role of the State

3. Development Economics

   3.1 Introduction to Development Economics

   3.2 Relevant empirical methods

   3.3 Topics in Economic Development: Aid; Education; Agriculture and Industrialization; Microcredit; International trade/Globalization; Culture; Inequality; Colonialism/Institutions/Corruption; Natural resources and geographic conditions

Objectives

Students will get in touch with the economic and social reality of countries at different stages of development, study the economic challenges of less developed countries, and analyze public policies and interventions to address these challenges.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Know the alternative methods for measuring the phenomena of economic growth and development, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.
• Know the facts about growth, poverty and inequality in the global economy and specific regions.
• Compare and contrast key growth theories and development perspectives.
• Understand the interconnection between inequality, poverty, growth and development.
• Understand the link between different factors and economic growth and development, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective, know what the most recent empirical studies have shown so far.
• Apply theoretical knowledge in the analysis of practical problems.

Teaching methodologies and assessment

Continuous evaluation

Students will prepare in groups of 2 elements a class corresponding to one of the topics of Development Economics. This presentation includes at least: (i) the relevance of the topic to economic development; ii) summary of the state of the art of this topic; iii) presentation of a scientific article published in a renowned academic journal. The teacher will support students in choosing relevant material and will suggest at least one scientific paper.

Continuous assessment weights:

- Final test (12/20): 60%

- Class presentation: 35%

- Attendance and participation in classes: 5%

Final exam

100% written test. Opts for the absence of oral evidence at the time of examination.

References

• Cypher, James M. and Dietz, James l. (2009), The Process of Economic Development, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group

• Jones, Charles (2002), Introduction to Economic Growth, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

• Ray, Debraj (1998), Development Economics, Princeton University Press

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