Last taught : Fall 1994
Instructor: Vijayendra Rao
This course will focus primarily on micro-economic issues in third world countries. It is intended for upper-division undergraduates in economics. The issues discussed will include: poverty & well-being, structural adjustment, dual economies & migration, labor markets, village financial markets, share-cropping & tenancy, and economic development & cultural change. Most of the material is relevant for all developing countries. However, many of the examples, to provide a context for the theoretical discussion, will be from India. In the process of examining theoretical economic models and statistical data in some detail, we will also read the work of anthropologists, nutritionists, urban planners, and Gandhi.
Economics Majors:A basic knowledge of algebra, some calculus, and Economics 251 (Intermediate Micro-Economics) are essential.
Other Majors: You may enroll in the course if you have had Economics 101 and are comfortable with quantitative reasoning. While, non-Economics majors are encouraged to attend you should check with the instructor before doing so.
Evaluation: There will be quizzes at reasonable intervals based on the readings and on the classroom material. These will form 50% of the grade. 50% of the grade will be based on a term paper on a topic mutually agreed upon between the student and the instructor.
1) The Less Developed Economy: A Critique of Contemporary Theory, by Kaushik Basu, Basil Blackwell Inc., 1984
(Henceforth referred to as Basu)
2) POVERTY: World Development Report 1990, The World Bank and Oxford University Press, 1990
(Henceforth referred to as WDR)
3) A Bulk Pack of readings. (All readings included in the Bulk Pack are identified as BP)
"Introduction," Chapter 1, Basu
"Economics, Institutions and Development: A Global Perspective," Chapter 1 in Michael P. Todaro, Economic Development, Longman, 1994
"Diverse Structures and Common Characteristics of Developing Countries," Chapter 2 in Todaro
"Theories of Development": A Comparative Analysis," Chapter 3 of Todaro, Pp. 67-74 & Pp.81-98
"In Ten Years," Economics of Khadi, First Edition, Mohandas K. Gandhi, Navjivan Press, Ahmedabad, 1941 Pp.285-287. BP
"Co-operation in Spinning," Gandhi, Pp.177-178. BP
"The Standard of Living: Lecture 1, Concepts and Critiques," The Standard of Living, Amartya Sen, Cambridge University Press, 1988, Pp.1-19. BP
"The Standard of Living: Lecture 2, Lives and Capabilities," The Standard of Living, Amartya Sen, Pp.20-38. BP
"Measuring Human Development and Freedom," Chapter 1, Human Development Report 1991, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Oxford University Press, 1991. BP
"The State of Human Development," Chapter 2, Human Development Report 1991, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Oxford University Press, 1991. BP
"Constrained Optimization," Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics, Alpha C. Chiang, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1974, Pp.373-379 & Pp. 391-394. BP
"The Vicious Circle of Poverty," Chapter 2, Basu
"Overview", WDR
"Diverging Trends in the World Economy," Chapter 1, WDR
"What Do We Know About the Poor," Chapter 2, WDR
"Family and Food: Sex Bias in Poverty," Chapter 15, Resources, Values and Development, Amartya Sen. BP
"Progress on Poverty: Lessons for the Future," Chapter 3, WDR
"Promoting Economic Opportunities for the Poor," Chapter 4, WDR
"Delivering Social Services for the Poor," Chapter 5, WDR
"Transfers and Safety Nets," Chapter 6, WDR
"Inflation and Structural Disequilibrium," Chapter 3, Basu.
"The 1980s: Shocks, Responses, and the Poor," Chapter 7, WDR.
"International Factors in Reducing Poverty," Chapter 8, WDR.
"The Structure of the Dual Economy," Chapter 5, Basu.
"Migration and Unemployment," Chapter 6, Basu.
"Migration", Chapter 10, Men to Bombay Women at Home, Hemalata C. Dandekar, Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, The University of Michigan, 1986, Pp.219-232. BP
"Bombay Jobs and Bombay Life," Chapter 11, Dandekar, Pp. 233-258. BP
"Economic Organization and Change," Chapter 2, Economic Development and Social Change in India, T. Scarlett Epstein, The University of Manchester Press, Manchester, 1962. BP
"The Rural-Urban Wage Gap," Chapter 7, Basu
"Labor," Chapter 5, Village and Household Economies in India's Semi-Arid Tropics, Thomas J. Walker and James G. Ryan, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990. Pp. 105-150. BP
"Re-Investing Energy to Produce Food," Chapter 4, Food, Health and Survival in India and Developing Countries, Stuart Gillespie and Geraldine McNeill, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1992, Pp. 61-76. BP
"Stagnation in Backward Agriculture," Chapter 9, Basu
"Tenancy and Efficiency," Chapter 10, Basu
"Tenancy", Chapter 5, Palanpur: The Economy of An Indian Village, C.J. Bliss and N.H. Stern, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1982, Pp. 124-143. BP
"Village Financial Markets," Chapter 7, Village and Household Economies in India's Semi-Arid Tropics, Thomas J. Walker and James G. Ryan, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990. Pp. 196-218. BP
"Isolation and Usury: An Analysis of Rural Credit Markets," Chapter 11, Basu
"Newcomers to the World: Consumption Among the Muria Gonds," Alfred Gell, Chapter 4 from The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective, Arjun Appadurai (edited), Cambridge University Press, 1988. Pp. 110-138. BP
"Sanskritization," Chapter 1, M. N. Srinivas, Social Change in Modern India, University of California Press, 1966, Pp. 1-22. BP
"The Limits of Economic Analysis," Chapter 13, Basu.
* Topics are those that we will get to if we have the time.