Pol Econ of Dev in Latin Ameri

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This seminar will introduce students to the cutting edge debates in the political economy of development, both from a theoretical and policy perspective. The study of why some countries are poor and others are rich is one of the most important questions in economics and it is now widely acknowledged that politics and institutions play a fundamental role in promoting or undermining a country’s development prospects. Given the complex and multidimensional nature of development, this course combines insights from history, political science and economics to answer questions such as: What is the relationship between colonial legacies and current economic development? Is the economic gap between the United States and Latin America driven by its different colonial experiences? How does corruption and recurrent political conflict affect development in the region? Is the presence of abundant natural resources a “curse” for its development? Can government policies reverse long-run development trends? Key themes to be explored are the role of colonialism, corruption, civil conflict, authoritarianism, democratic transitions, cultural values and social norms, among others. The goal is for students to think critically about the politics of economic development and give you a broad framework to think about the questions posed above. Although this course will focus regionally on Latin America, it will be useful for scholars from other areas given a number of factors undermining economic development in Latin America (e.g. corruption) are also present in other regions. For instance, lessons from successful (or unsuccessful) policies implemented in Latin America might be useful elsewhere, and the theoretical and methodological tools employed have broad applications to other regions, as well as to students’ own research.