EC-320 Economic Development

Course Description

The course exposes the student to economic development issues faced by developing countries. The student will explore the characteristics of developing countries, especially the least developing countries (LDCs), the challenges facing these countries, and some options and strategies for development. Theories of economic growth and trade and development models will be covered at the basic level. Other economic development issues to be covered include macroeconomic policy, agricultural and industrial development, foreign aid and foreign direct investment, debt, unemployment, urbanization and population growth problems. The economic development challenges of the FSM and Pacific region will be given particular attention.

A. PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES (PLOs):

The student will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of basic concepts in organizational behavior
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the intricacies of marketing planning and overall marketing
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts underlying corporate financial decision making
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of entrepreneurship and small business in the FSM economy
5. Demonstrate basic knowledge of international business
6. Demonstrate an understanding of economic development issues
7. Demonstrate an understanding of statistical methods of sampling and estimating population statistics

B. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (SLOs) - GENERAL:

The student will be able to:

1. Explain the often blurred difference between economic growth and economic development and how each is measured.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the global issues and challenges of economic development such as poverty, low income, unemployment, and population growth
3. Describe the importance of health and education in the economic development of a nation.
4. Explain the interrelationship between economic development issues and other social, cultural, environmental, and technological issues.
5. Identify the strategies employed by developing and developed countries (and other organizations) in their quest for economic development.

SLO	PLO 1	PLO 2	PLO 3	PLO 4	PLO 5	PLO 6	PLO 7
1						I
2						D
3						I
4						D
5						I

I = Introduced D = Demonstrated M = Mastered

C. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (SLOs) – SPECIFIC:

The student will be able to:

General SLO 1. Explain the often blurred difference between economic growth and economic development and how each is measured.

Student Learning Outcomes	Assessment Strategies
1.1. Define the concept of economic development and how it differs from economic growth.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
1.2 Outline the difficulties of (and controversies in) measuring growth and development and describe the standard kinds of measurements used by development economists.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
1.3. Identify the basic indicators of economic growth and development.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.

General SLO 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the global issues and challenges of economic development such as poverty, low income, unemployment, and population growth.

Student Learning Outcomes	Assessment Strategies
2.1. Explain poverty as a human capital issue, particularly with reference to the problems faced those that are mostly affected.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
2.2 Explain global inequality and discus the $1 and $2 a day poverty.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
2.3 Assess the contributions of agriculture to overall development and outline the incentives required for successful agricultural development (e.g. land tenure).	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
2.4 Explain how population growth affects economic development and how fertility affects labor force participation.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
2.5 Explain how population growth affects labor force growth and unemployment.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
2.6 Identify policies for reducing poverty and improving income distribution.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.

General SLO 3. Describe the importance of health and education in the economic development of a nation.

Student Learning Outcomes	Assessment Strategies
3.1. Identify health issues that are important in developing countries and discuss how health and education contribute to increased productivity.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
3.2. Describe trends in birth and death rates in various countries or regions and discuss the effect of population growth on development.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
3.3 Describe how education increases productivity, improves health and nutrition and reduces family size.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.

General SLO 4. Explain the interrelationship between economic development issues and other social, cultural, environmental, and technological issues.

Student Learning Outcomes	Assessment Strategies
4.1. Discuss the causes of rural-urban migration and its impact on the economy.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
4.2. Explain how technological change can contribute to improved agricultural performance, including the problems met with implementing Green Revolutions.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
4.3. Explain how economists incorporate environmental issues into their evaluation of development projects and outcomes.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
4.4. Explain the concept of ‘externalities’ and how market outcomes may ignore important costs and benefits.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.

General SLO 5. Identify the strategies employed by developing and developed countries (and other organizations) in their quest for economic development.

Student Learning Outcomes	Assessment Strategies
5.1. Explain the importance of capital in economic growth, and the conditions necessary for capital to be effective.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
5.2 Explain the role of financial institutions in mobilizing savings and the difficulties faced in mobilizing savings in the household and business sectors of LDCs.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
5.3 Explain the concept of financial deepening and repression and the role of government policies toward the financial sector.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
5.4 Describe the common types of government intervention in markets and the rent seeking and corruption that may be the consequences of excessive regulation.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.
5.5 Describe the institutional framework of international trade, including the World Trade Organization; trade between developed and developing countries; and the specific topics of commodity-market stabilization, and trade, development and the environment.	Essay, assignments, case analysis, quizzes and/or exams.

D. COURSE CONTENT

Part 1: Principles and Concepts of Development

1. Introduction of Economic Development
2. The Meaning and Measurement of Economic Development
3. Economic Development in Historical Perspective
4. Characteristics and Institutions of Developing Countries
5. Theories of Economic Development

Part 2: Poverty Alleviation and Income Distribution

6. Poverty, Malnutrition and Income Inequality
7. Rural Poverty and Agricultural Transformation

Part 3: Factors of Growth

8. Population and Development
9. Employment, Migration and Urbanization
10. . Education, Health and Human Capital
11. Capital Formation, Investment Choice, Information Technology and Technical Progress
12. Entrepreneurship, Organization and Innovation
13. Natural Resources and the Environment: Toward Sustainable Development

Part 4: Macroeconomics and International Economics of Development

14. Monetary, Fiscal and Incomes Policy and Inflation
15. Balance of Payments, Aid and Foreign Investment
16. The External Debt and Financial Crises
17. International Trade

Part 5: Development Strategies

18. . Development Planning and Policy Making
19. Stabilization, Adjustment, Reform and Privatization

E. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

Lectures, guest speakers, research project, business plan, case analysis, homework, classroom exercises, and various individual and group assignments. Power-point, LCD projections and videos will be used as instructional aid and other teaching materials depending on availability.

F. REQURIED TEXT(S) AND COURSE MATERIALS

Nafziger, E.W., (2006) Economic Development. New York. Cambridge University Press. (4th ed) (or most recent edition).

G REFERENCE MATERIALS

None

H. INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS

None

I. EVALUATION

None

J. CREDIT BY EXAMINATION

None