International development

Critical Approaches to Development Economics

Module code: L2147
Level 5
15 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Coursework, Report

Economics has a disproportionate influence on policy design and decision-making in international development (and beyond). Yet dominant approaches to development economics reflect a narrow theoretical tradition established in the Global North.

This module will equip you to work critically within these dominant approaches to development economics. But it also draws on approaches to development economics developed by thinkers based across the Global South. We’ll draw on Latin American, Caribbean, African and South Asian approaches to
development economics to understand and respond to contemporary economic challenges including:

• rising inequality
• questions of (de)growth
• debt
• climate change.

Module learning outcomes

• To demonstrate basic knowledge of economic concepts and arguments relevant to core development questions.
• Ability to appreciate the subtlety of critical perspectives and debates about economic development.
• To demonstrate a basic understanding of analytical techniques used by economists, such as simple graphs and ways to measure development.
• Critically evaluate dominant approaches to problem solving and policy setting used in development economics.