Credit Points 10

Legacy Code 101895

Coordinator Izabela Watts Opens in new window

Description The subject introduces students to the main theories and the diverse political economy dimensions of development. It consists of three modules. The first deals with key concepts that interrogate the meaning of development, origins of prosperity and the concepts of poverty, inequality and redistribution, which are contentious in their applications to various groups. The second module examines core issues in the political economy of development, which include globalisation, foreign aid, democracy, conflict and the role of the state. The last module engages with pertinent case studies focusing on Asia, the Pacific as well as problems with development in the Western world.

School Social Sciences

Discipline Studies In Human Society

Student Contribution Band HECS Band 4 10cp

Level Postgraduate Coursework Level 7 subject

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. Review various theoretical perspectives of development and debates surrounding them.
2. Identify and critically analyse the core issues and their inter-linkages in the diverse perspectives of political economy of development.
3. Critically analyse cases of development using appropriate theoretical frameworks.

Subject Content

Module I - Concepts
1. Defining and measuring development
2. Origins of prosperity: Capital, geography, culture and institutions
3. Poverty, inequality and redistribution
Module II ? Core Issues
4. Globalisation: The West and the rest
5. Development assistance and foreign aid
6. Fragile and failed states: The bottom billion
7. Democracy and development
8. The state and development: Searching for a right balance
Module III ? Case Studies
9. The East Asian and Southeast Asian miracle
10. Global financial crisis (GFC) and populism
11. Development in the Pacific: Vulnerability of small island states
12. The struggle of Indigenous peoples