Macquarie University

Economic Development - ECON336

Despite robust economic growth across the globe in the last decades, around one billion people in the world still suffer from the effects of underdevelopment and poverty. This unit will give students a critical understanding of the inherent problems facing underdeveloped and developing countries. It will provide an in-depth analysis of the different explanations and measures that may be taken to foster economic development and to relax the constraints that slow it down. An integral component of the unit is discussion of the most recent research by economists who work in the field, testing and devising cheap and feasible policy solutions to improve outcomes for the global poor. Focusing on specific examples, such as the prevalence of diseases such as malaria or the schooling outcomes of children in poor households, we will investigate and critically evaluate the effectiveness of existing policy measures and discuss ways to improve our policy response to enduring development challenges.