Syllabus
Issues in Economic Development (GPPS 325)

This is the Summer 2007 syllabus. See the appropriate syllabus for the semester you are interested in.

This is a three-credit graduate course and is one in a series of courses in the online Humanitarian Services Administration program developed by the University of Connecticut's Center for Continuing Studies. This course is an elective course in the online Master of Professional Studies degree with a field of study in Humanitarian Services Administration.  The developer of this course is Dr. D. M. Hanink.

Course Title: Issues in Economic Development (GPPS 325)
Credits: 3
Instructor: D. M. Hanink, Ph.D., Professor of Geography, University of Connecticut

E-mail: Dean.Hanink@uconn.edu
Tel: (860) 486-3450

This course complements HSA 303: Poverty and Public Health and HSA 312: Issues in Humanitarian Studies. It concerns economic, social, and demographic change in those countries comprising the less wealthy regions of the South. It examines development from linear (neoclassical), structuralist (political economy), and other perspectives, and emphasizes relationships between “advanced” and “developing” countries within the context of the global economy. In addition to theoretical grounding, the course provides practice in preparing development profiles of individual countries.

By the end of the semester, students will be able to:

• Recognize various definitions of "development."
• Describe the competing development theories drawn from liberal, Marxist, and post-modern contexts (developed in such social sciences as economics, sociology, and human geography).
• Explain the institutional contexts of development from global to community scales.
• Identify and describe current development initiatives, especially global ones.
• Describe the uneven impacts of development within countries, especially urban-rural differences.
• Research and prepare development profiles of individual countries.

Grading Procedures:

Grades for the course have two equally weighted parts: (1) participation in the online discussion of readings and (2) a written country development profile. You can earn up to 10 points per module for participation in discussions, for a total of 60 course points. Each part of the development profile is worth 10 points as well, for a total of 60 points. (The total possible course points = 120.)

Country Development Profile

Students, consulting with the instructor, will select an individual country for analysis. Each part of the country development profile should be 2-3 pages exclusive of tables and illustrations such as graphs or maps, but inclusive of bibliographic references. Each part is due on the modular schedule and graded independently. Part 6, the completed profile, is due at the end of the course.

• Part 1 - Country history in summary, with an emphasis on the last 50 years
• Part 2 - Population
• Part 3 - Resources and Economy
• Part 4 - Trade and International Finance
• Part 5 - Development Policy
• Part 6 - Revision and synthesis of Parts 1-5

Particular expectations for each part of the development profile will be discussed as the course progresses, and sources of information will be recommended as well. Each part of the country profile, as well as its final complete version, is expected to follow American Psychological Association (APA) style. (See http://www.lib.uconn.edu/using/finding/guides/APAcitat.pdf).

You are responsible for acting in accordance with the Student Code, available at http://www.dosa.uconn.edu/student_code.cfm?from=im&fn=Judicial%20Affairs. 

The text may be purchased locally or through an online bookstore.

Required Text:
R. B. Potter, T. Binns, J. A. Elliot, & D. Smith. (2003). Geographies of development (2nd ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson Education. ISBN: 0130605697

Required Articles (subject to revision)
These are provided in the course through the Electronic Course Reserve (ECR).

Each of the following articles is from the journal World Development

• World Development : M. Dove and D. Kammen. Vernacular models of development: an analysis of Indonesia under the “new order”. Vol. 29 (2001) pp. 619-639.
• World Development : J. Sanford. IDA grants and HIPC debt cancellation: their effectiveness and impact on IDA resources. Vol. 32 (2004), pp. 1579-1607
• World Development : C. Kenny. Why are We Worried about Income? Nearly Everything that Matters is Converging. Vol. 33 (2005), pp. 1-19.
• World Development : B. Cohen. Urban growth in developing countries: a review of current trends and a caution regarding existing forecasts. Vol. 32 (2004), pp. 23-51.
• World Development : J. Rigg. Land, Farming, Livelihoods, and Poverty: Rethinking the Links in the Rural South. Vol. 34 (2006), pp. 180-202.
• World Development : O. Sanchez, Globalization as a development strategy in Latin America . Vol. 31 (2003), pp. 1977-1995.

These required articles from The Economist can be accessed for free via the University of Connecticut Libraries eJournals if you are a registered UConn student.

• (2006, September 16). Survey: The World Economy. The Economist. Retrieved March 5, 2007 from http://www.economist.com/surveys/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7877959
• (2002, November 2). Survey: Migration: The longest journey. The Economist. Retrieved March 5, 2007, from http://www.economist.com/surveys/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1402810
• (2002, July 6). Survey: The global environment: The great race. The Economist. Retrieved March 5, 2007, from http://www.economist.com/surveys/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1199867
• (2004, November 13). Survey: Outsourcing: A world of work. The Economist. Retrieved March 5, 2007 from http://www.economist.com/surveys/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3351416
• (2004, January 17). Survey: Sub-Saharan Africa. The Economist. Retrieved March 5, 2007 from http://www.economist.com/surveys/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2328624
• (2001, November 10). Survey: Technology and development: Getting better all the time. The Economist. March 5, 2007 from http://www.economist.com/surveys/displayStory.cfm?story_id=841842

Videos
This required video will be mailed to you on CD.

• World Bank. (2001). Hear our voices - the poor on poverty [Documentary].

These recommended videos can be accessed for free via the Annenberg/CPB Web site using a broadband connection.

• WGBH Boston. (Producer). (1989). Europe and the third world [Online video series]. In The western tradition.
• Cambridge Studios. (Producer). (2003).Urban and rural contrast: Delhi: Bursting at the seams [Online video series]. In The power of place.
• Cambridge Studios. (Producer). (2003).Oil and water: Egypt: Gift of the nile [Online video series]. In The power of place.
• Cambridge Studios. (Producer). (2003).The mainland: Laos: Isolated heart [Online video series]. In The power of place.
• Cambridge Studios. (Producer). (2003). Developing countries: Cote d'Ivoire: Cocoa and change [Online video series]. In The power of place.
• Cambridge Studios. (Producer). (2003). Urban and rural contrasts: Dikhatpura: Help through irrigation [Online video series]. In The power of place.
• Cambridge Studios. (Producer). (2003). The booming maritime edge: Guangdong: Globalization in the pearl river delta [Online video series]. In The power of place.
• Educational Film Center (Producer). (1995). Developing countries [Online video series]. In Inside the global economy.
• Cambridge Studios. (Producer). (2003). The mainland: Vietnam: fertile dreams [Online video series]. In The power of place.
• Cambridge Studios. (Producer). (2003). Developing countries: Gabon: Sustainable resources [Online video series]. In The power of place.
• Cambridge Studios. (Producer). (2003). The booming maritime edge: Taiwan: High-tech tiger [Online video series]. In The power of place.
• Cambridge Studios. (Producer). (2003). Oil and water: Oman: Looking beyond oil [Online video series]. In The power of place.

Web sites will be listed in this course.

 

• Word processing software
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• It is recommended that you have broadband access.

Your Internet browser and browser settings need to be Vista compatible.
See Settings.

Module 1: Introduction “Development” and Its Background

• definitions of development
• colonialism and imperialism
• legacies of imperialism
• neo-colonialism
• development nomenclature
• characteristics and indicators

Module 2: Development and Population

• distribution and dynamics
• demographic structure
• impact of HIV/AIDS
• migration
• urbanization
• urban form and planning

Module 3: Development and Resources

• water
• minerals
• environment
• rural sector
• rural change

Module 4: Development and Interaction

• “globalization”
• trade in goods
• trade in services
• international investment
• international lending and debt

Module 5: The Institutional Context

• “global” institutions
• structural adjustment
• regional institutions
• state institutions
• NGOs
• current global initiatives

Module 6: Development as a Process (and Ideology)

• classical-traditional
• historical-empirical
• radical, alternatives

Students will be provided an opportunity to evaluate instruction in this course using the University's standard procedures, which are administered by the Office of Institutional Research.