Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE ECN2213

 
TITLE Economic Growth and Development

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Economics

 
DESCRIPTION This unit discusses development, structural change and economic growth and analysis the impact these may have on human resources. The unit examines the formal approaches to development, the early theoretical models and their inter-relationships. It also reviews the more recent technical changes and technological policies. Labour transfer, population, labour markets and the issue of poverty are also discussed in the context of an open economy and strategy of adjustment.

Study-unit Aims

This unit aims to further the students' knowledge of economic growth and development by analyzing the sources of growth and structural change and the major debates that have arisen around them. The unit also examines more formal approaches to development and early theoretical models and their inter-relationships.

Learning Outcomes

1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- recognise the shift from the classical emphasis of economic growth to recent concerns with efficiency and distributional issues
- describe the inter-relations between development, technology, population and labour markets
- recognise the important role that education and technology have on human resources
- determine what constitutes economic growth and development

2. Skills (including transferable [generic] skills): By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- discuss the different perspectives on development, such as structuralism, dependency theory and the neoclassical approach
- distinguish between economic growth and distributional issues
- classify the principal growth models

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings

Compulsory reading:

- Meier, G.M. and Rauch, J.E. (2002). Leading Issues in Economic Development, Seventh edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- Cypher,J.M. and Dietz, J.L. (2004). The Process of Economic Development, Second Edition, Routledge

Supplementary reading :

- Pio, A. (1994). New Growth Theory and Old Development Problems: How Recent Developments in Endogenous Growth Apply to Developing Countries. pages 277-300 Development Policy Review volume 12 Basil Blackwell, Overseas Development Institute
- Ahluwalia M. S. (1976). Inequality, Poverty and Development, pages 307-342,Journal of Development Economics no 3
- Boserup, E. (1991), Economic Change and the Roles of Women. pages 14-24 (Chapter 2), UK: Oxford University Press

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Independent Study

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Clyde Caruana

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit