Why are some countries rich and others poor? What can be done to stimulate growth and eradicate poverty? Is globalization good or bad? These are the central questions in the sub-field of Economic Development. Unfortunately, economists do not have clear, precise answers to these core questions. We can identify different measures of development and we will use data to compare economic performance across time and countries. We do not understand, however, the exact mechanics of economic growth. Thus, development remains one of the most basic, unsolved issues in economics. This upper-level, seminar-style course will feature class discussion of reading and video assignments. There is no textbook and little lecturing. Students are expected to actively contribute and engage in the conversation. We will take advantage of the incredible opportunity we have to see the social, political, and economic situation of a variety of countries.
Field WorkCountry: Morocco
Date: October 16, 2019
This field class includes a trip to a microcredit to see how this type of financial institution functions. We will study both the microcredit institution itself and their customers. Field class objectives include learning about microcredit operations and exploring their effectiveness as an aid to economic development.
- Determining how micro credit functions
- Evaluating micro credit as an aid to development
- Exploring the effects beyond simply financial