Revised
September 21, 2003

 

INTERNATIONAL  DEVELOPMENT

 

TEACHER
Jorge Braga de Macedo, Special Adviser to the  Secretary-General of OECD and Associate Professor at IEP Paris 

 

OBJECTIVES

To use relevant economic literature, both analytical and empirical, in order to apply economic reasoning to real world problems in countries where institutions and cultures may differ from those in developed countries.

To write short essays on particular development problems, to present and discuss these essays among peers and to interact with teacher and guest speakers  in order to formulate and advocate solutions to those problems. 

 

CONTENTS

As was the case of the sequence offered in 2002/03 (international  development theory and policy 1 during the fall semester and http://coursenligne.sciences-po.fr/2002_2003/braga/planII.pdf during the spring), this course presents selected development issues where the implications of economic analysis in devising concrete development policies under globalization are apparent. Case studies of responses to globalization draw on outcomes in developing countries which have been researched at the OECD, together with the experience accumulated at the OECD in formulating and advocating appropriate policies for its own member countries.

Economic thought on development, as it has evolved since the Marshall plan, is presented and so is the pattern of world economic development. Policies relating to the global architecture and to the scope for regional integration are covered, based on an international relations approach to development. In particular, the conditions for European and OECD experiences with peer pressure to be portable to Africa, Asia and Latin America are investigated and examples of public-private partnerships broadening the knowledge base available to society are provided.

Formal and informal institutions are interpreted as political and economic governance solutions, at the national, regional and global levels. It is explained how these  institutions interact with political democracy, economic growth and poverty alleviation, as well as how coordination failures among agents’ actions and expectations lead to unsatisfactory development outcomes, corruption and the resistance to reforms and institutional changes. Expectations of better governance in the future also help build reputation for appropriate policies in some institutional setups rather than in others, illustrating the benefits of policy credibility.

It is seen how human capital, adaptive capacity and technology  may determine whether or not a national development path provides the highest attainable social welfare, pointing to the factors whereby lower income countries may grow faster than higher income ones, bringing about a   convergence in the living standards of their resident populations.

 

Language: French – some guest lectures in English, readings in English.

 

Teaching Method

Lectures presenting theoretical and policy oriented material during 14 two-hour lectures on Wednesday from 5 to 7 pm including some presentations by guest speakers (such as Gerry Arsenis, Greek MP and former Director General of UNCTAD; Ambassadors Hassan Abouyoub, Joelle Bourgois and Dominique Perrault; Marten Ross, Vice Governor of Bank of Estonia; Pascal de Lima PhD candidate at SciencesPo; Joćo Carlos Espada, director of IEP at Catholic University of Portugal, etc.).

Review sessions (Wednesday from 7 to 9 pm) will be used to further discuss lecture materials, to class discussion and student presentations. They are not required for DEA students.

Several readings come from the following OECD publications, also available in French:

  • Globalisation and Governance, Main Results of the OECD Development Centre 2001-2002 Programme of Work, 2003
  • Development Is Back (edited by Jorge Braga de Macedo, Colm Foy and Charles P. Oman), 2002.
  • African Economic Outlook (joint with African Development Bank), 2002 and 2003.
  • The World Economy: A  Millennial Perspective (by Angus Maddison), 2001. 

 

Evaluation Modalities

DEA students are only required to take final exam (4 hours). Otherwise, in-class presentation by each student of an essay on a topic of his/her choice, followed by peer review (total duration one hour) and mid-term are also required.

 

Grading

Mid-term examination (30%; DEA optional)

Essay (30%; DEA optional)

Final examination (40%; DEA 100%)

 

Tentative calendar of lecture sessions, with follow up review sessions or student presentations:

9 October: Class I Course presentation and discussion of students’ backgrounds

16 October: Class II Evolution of Economic Thought on Development I (Gerry Arsenis)

23 October Class III Development, Transition and Convergence (Marten Ross, Pascal de Lima)

30 October Class IV Evolution of Economic Thought on Development II (Gerry Arsenis)

6 November   Class V Growth and Convergence: History vs. Expectations (midterm exam)

13 November Class VI Issues in global governance (debate with Gerry Arsenis and other guest speakers)

20 November:  Class VII Transparency, Accountability and Reform

27 November:  Class VIII Public Private Partnerships for African Development

4 December: Class IX Problems of structural change and reform in democracy (Gerry Arsenis)

11 December:   Class X Towards Arab and Euro-Med regional integration (guest speaker)

18 December Class XI Democracy and development (Joćo Carlos Espada)

8 January Class XII Poverty and inequality within and between Nations

15 January: Class XIII Comparative decision making in Europe (debate with Gerry Arsenis and other guest speakers)

22 January: Class XIV European and OECD experience with Peer Pressure

29 January Final exam.