Econ 118: Economic Development in Asia

Schedule:
Day & Time: Tuesday, 1530-1645 (G2); Wednesday, 1200-1515 (G3) & 1530-1645 (G1)
Location: SESS,  SESS S-R 2.8

Economic Development in Asia (Economics 118) is a one semester introduction to the various policy dimensions of economic development in Asia, with particular focus on the present and prospects for the future. The aim of this course is to prepare students for staff positions at multilateral development, institutions (e.g. IMF, World Bank, ADB), think-tanks, key government ministries, non-profit organizations, central banks, investment banks, and for places in top-tier graduate schools.

Three themes will be adopted throughout this course. One, students are expected to follow academic and policy debates as discussed in professional journals, multilateral publications (e.g. IMF, ADB), and in the influential writings of key figures in development. Two, students are expected to balance technical discussions of development policy with practical concerns regarding the design, operations, and implementation of alternative policies. Three, students are expected to analyse and debate the applicability of policy options within the context of current political economy and the state of domestic and regional institutions.

Topics to be covered are given in the course outline. They will include the following: economic growth & structural change; the role of exogenous forces on development, such as resource and population endowments, imported technology and institutions;  the role of endogenous forces on development, such as domestic market structure, international trade, technological innovation, education, endemic poverty, legal and social institutions, corruption, and organic structural change; microeconomic policies, such as taxation, minimum wage, migration, incentive and disincentive schemes pertaining to  the environment & retirement, financial and credit market development and microfinance; macroeconomic policies such as the role of government, industrial policies, fiscal policies, debt and deficits, monetary policy, exchange rate policies, the balance of payments, financial & monetary integration; the Asian Financial and Currency Crisis of 1997-98, its causes and implications; and finally supranational features of economic development in Asia, including free trade agreements, various bond and market initiatives, intraregional cooperation, the implications of international policy coordination and thoughts on prospective Asian monetary union.

Course Requirements

My EDA course consists of lectures on each topic, structured class-wide discussions, a term-paper, and a comprehensive final examination. The course will be writing intensive, with over 90% of your grade being determined by written submissions. Lectures will be largely qualitative in presentation but will cover deeply theoretical and implicitly quantitative debates in economics. As such, the course will provide a rigorous treatment of economic development, yet remain accessible to undergraduates. Discussions will be seeded by lectures and readings but will be allowed to develop organically. Students will be expected to use discussion time to further their understanding of the material covered in lecture. The term paper invites students to explore with depth an aspect of economic development in Asia that has relevance for current development policy in Asia. Well-prepared students will write their paper in line with their personal and professional interests and the job market they seek to enter. Originality, innovation and risk are to be incentivised. Literature reviews will be actively discouraged. The final examination will be three-hours long and will be a comprehensive treatment of both readings and lectures.  

Pre-requisites: Introductory Economics

FINAL Examination Information

Date: Monday, November 26
Time: 0900 to 1200