Learning objectives and course description
1) Develop an understanding of the main reasons for underdevelopment and the problems and challenges in the development process of the so-called Third World. We will study how different theoretical assumptions set different emphases and lead to different analyses and different policy proposals.
2) Throughout the semester we will particularly focus on two issues that are highly contested and critical for an understanding of development problems and for policy formulation:
(a) the role and nature of the state, and
(b) the implications of the global political economy, whether in the form of colonialism or of globalization.
3) We will seek answers to the following questions:
(a) what are the main determinants of economic growth and development;
(b) what determines the nature of structural transformation;
(c) which role does foreign capital play in fostering or thwarting economic development.
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