Global Development and Human Security
Revised: September 22, 2021
Kenneth A. Reinert
Phone: 703-993-8212
Email: kreinert@gmu.edu
Website: reinert.gmu.edu
Office hours: Scheduled over email and held on Blackboard
Office: Founders Hall 627
Study Guide now on Blackboard under Course Content.
Note: GMU has a requirement that masks must be worn in all buildings, including classrooms.
Course Description
Interdisciplinary examination of economic and human development in world economy and the analytical frameworks for assessing important issues that arise in development process. Relates these issues to the broad concept of human security and considers policy responses to complex challenges, including in the areas of population, health, education, and rural development.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding: To have a broad understanding of the concepts, theories and measures that characterize the fields of economic and human development.
Analytical Skills and Abilities: To be able to understand and manipulate the basic graphical analysis of modern growth theory and to understand its relationship to broader development theory. To be able to access development data and analyze it in a spreadsheet.
Professional Development: To be able to engage in basic development policy analysis as evidenced in a written briefing paper.
Required Text
Szirmai, A. (2015) Socio-Economic Development, Cambridge University Press.
Recommended Text
Reinert, K.A. (2018) No Small Hope: Towards the Universal Provision of Basic Goods, Oxford University Press.
Course Requirements and Grading
Midterm exam- 30 percent
Cumulative final exam- 30 percent
Briefing paper- 25 percent
Class participation- 15 percent
Course Outline and Readings
Week 1 (August 24): Introduction: Development and Human Security
PowerPoint presentation on Blackboard
Reinert, K.A. (2020) “From Sustainable Development Goals to Basic Development Goals,” Ethics and International Affairs, 34:2, 125-137. On Blackboard.
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
Recommended:
Banerjee, A.V. and E. Duflo (2007) “The Economic Lives of the Poor,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21:1, 141-168.
Deaton, A. (2018) “The U.S. Can No Longer Hide from Its Deep Poverty Problem,” New York Times, January 24.
Reinert (2018) Chapter 1, “What Matters.”
Week 2 (August 31): Concepts of and Trends in Development
Notes on Blackboard
Szirmai, Chapter 1, “Developing Countries and the Concept of Development.”
Reinert, K.A. (forthcoming) “The Basic Needs Approach,” in Matthew Clarke (ed.), Encyclopedia of Development, Edward Elgar. On Blackboard.
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
Recommended:
Andersen-Rodgers, D. and K.F. Crawford (2018) “Human Security,” Chapter 1 of Human Security: Theory and Action, Rowman and Littlefield, 3-20.
Duflo, E. (2012) “Women, Empowerment and Economic Development,” Journal of Economic Literature, 50:4, 1051-1079.
Kaldor, M., M. Martin, and S. Selchow (2007) “Human Security: A New Strategic Narrative for Europe,” International Affairs, 83:2, 273-288.
Reinert, K.A. (2018), Chapter 2, “Growth and Capabilities,” Chapter 3, “Basic Goods,” and Chapter 11, “Human Security.”
Suri, T., M. Boozer, G. Ranis and F. Stewart (2010) “Paths to Success: The Relationship between Human Development and Economic Growth,” World Development, 39:4, 506-522.
Week 3 (September 7): History and Colonial Legacies
Notes on Blackboard
Szirmai, Chapter 2, “Development of the International Economic Order: 1450-2015.”
North, D.C. (1994) “Economic Performance through Time,” American Economic Review, 84:3, 359-368. On Blackboard.
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
Recommended:
Acemoglu, D., S. Johnson and J.A. Robinson (2002) “Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117:4, 1231-1294.
Dalrymple, W. (2019) The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire, Bloomsbury.
Goldstone, J. (2009) Why Europe? The Rise of the West in World History, 1500-1850, McGraw-Hill.
North, D.C. (1990) Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, Cambridge University Press.
Week 4 (September 14): Classical Theories of Economic Development
Notes on Blackboard
Szirmai, Chapter 3, “Growth and Stagnation: Theories and Experiences.”
Gilbert, G. (1997) “Adam Smith on the Nature and Causes of Poverty,” Review of Social Economy, 5:3, 273-291. On Blackboard.
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
Recommended:
Maddison, A. (1991) “Interpreting Capitalist Development,” Chapter 1 of Dynamic Forces in Capitalist Development, Oxford University Press, 5-29.
Malthus’ Essay on the Principle of Population, available through Google Books.
Week 5 (September 21): Neoclassical Theory of Development: Growth Models
Notes on Blackboard
Szirmai, Chapter 3, “Growth and Stagnation: Theories and Experiences.”
Reinert (2021), Chapter 22, “Growth in the Open Economy.”
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
Recommended:
Acemoglu, D., S. Johnson and J.A. Robinson (2005) “Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long-Run Growth,” in P. Aghion and S.N. Durlauf (eds.), Handbook of Economic Growth, Volume 1A, Elsevier, 385-472.
Easterly, W. (2001) “Solow’s Surprise: Investment Is Not the Key to Growth,” Chapter 3 of The Elusive Quest for Growth, MIT Press, 47-69.
Kugler, M. (2018) “The Economics of Ideas: Paul Romer Receives the 2018 Nobel Prize,” Berkeley Economics Department.
Pio, A. (1994) “New Growth Theory and Old Development Problems,” Development Policy Review, 12:3, 277-300.
Rodrik, D. (2003) “Introduction,” Chapter 1 of In Search of Prosperity, Princeton University Press, 1-19.
Rodrik, D., A. Subramanian and F. Trebbi (2004) “Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions Over Geography and Integration in Economic Development,” Journal of Economic Growth, 9:2, 131-165.
Wacziarg, R. and K.H. Welch (2008) “Trade Liberalization and Growth: New Evidence,” World Bank Economic Review, 22:2, 187-231.
Week 6: (September 28): Technology and Development
Class visitor: Daniel Addo, on ICT4D
Notes on Blackboard
Szirmai, Chapter 4, “Technology and Development.”
Singh, J.P. (2017) “Technology,” in K.A. Reinert (ed.), Handbook of Globalisation and Development, Edward Elgar, 426-443. On Blackboard.
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
Recommended:
Lall, S. (1993) “Understanding Technology Development,” Development and Change, 24:4, 719-753.
Lall, S. and M. Teubal (1998) “Market Stimulating Technology Policies in Developing Countries,” World Development, 26:8, 1369-1385.
Mokyr, J. (1990) The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress, Oxford University Press.
Pack, H. and L.E. Wesphal (1986) “Industrial Strategy and Technological Change,” Journal of Development Economics, 22:1, 87-128.
Week 7 (October 5): Midterm Exam
Week 8 (October 12): No Class
Week 9 (Ocober 19): Population and Development (Briefing Paper Description Paragraph Due)
Notes on Blackboard
Szirmai, A., “Population and Development,” Chapter 5.
Reher, R.S. (2011) “Economic and Social Implications of the Demographic Transition,” Population and Development Review, 37:S1, 11-33. On Blackboard.
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
United Nations World Population Prospects
Recommended:
Dasgupta, P. (1994) “The Population Problem: Theory and Evidence,” Journal of Economic Literature, 33:4, 1879-1902.
Reinert (2018), Chapter 4, “Food.”
Sen, A., (1996) “Fertility and Coercion,” University of Chicago Law Review, 63:3, 1035-1061.
Week 10 (October 26): Health Security and Development
Notes on Blackboard
Szirmai, A., “Health, Healthcare and Development,” Chapter 6.
Osmani, S. and A. Sen (2003) “The Hidden Penalties of Gender Inequality: Fetal Origins of Ill-Health,” Economics and Human Biology, 1:1, 105-121. On Blackboard.
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
Recommended:
Bhalotra, S. and S.B. Rawlings (2011) “Intergenerational Persistence in Health in Developing Countries,” Journal of Public Economics, 95:3-4, 286-299.
Case, A., A. Fertig and C. Paxson (2005) “The Lasting Impact of Childhood Health and Circumstance,” Journal of Health Economics, 24:2, 365-389.
Farmer, P. (1996) “Social Inequalities and Emerging Infectious Diseases,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2:4, 259-269.
Ikeda, N. and others (2011) “What Has Made the Population of Japan Healthy?” Lancet, 378:9796, 1094-1105.
Kassouf, A.L. and B. Senauer (1996) “Direct and Indirect Effects of Parental Education on Malnutrition among Children in Brazil: A Full Income Approach,” Economic Development and Cultural Change, 44:4, 817-838.
Reinert, K.A. (2014) “Water in Development Ethics: Basic Goods Considerations,” Global Water Forum.
Reinert (2018), Chapter 5, “Water,” Chapter 6, “Sanitation,” and Chapter 7, “Health Services.”
Strauss, J. and D. Thomas (1998) “Health, Nutrition, and Economic Development,” Journal of Economic Literature, 36:2, 1998, 766-817.
Wolff, J. (2012) The Human Right to Health, Norton.
Week 11 (November 2): Education and Development
Notes on Blackboard
Szirmai, A., “Education and Development,” Chapter 7.
Schultz, T.P. (2002) “Why Governments Should Invest More to Educate Girls,” World Development, 30:2, 2002, 207-225. On Blackboard.
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
Recommended:
Glewwe, P. (2002) “Schools and Skills in Developing Countries: Education Policies and Socioeconomic Outcomes,” Journal of Economic Literature, 40:2, 2002, 436-482.
Lee, J.-W. (2001) ‘Education for Technology Readiness: Prospects for Developing Countries’, Journal of Human Development, 2:1, 115-151.
Masino, S. and M. Niño-Zarazúa (2016) “What Works to Improve the Quality of Student Learning in Developing Countries?” International Journal of Educational Development, 48, 53-65.
Psacharopoulos, G. (1994) “Returns to Investment in Education: A Global Update,” World Development, 22:9, 1325-1343.
Psacharopoulos, G. (2006) “The Value of Investment in Education: Theory, Evidence, and Policy,” Journal of Education Finance, 32:2, 113-136.
Reinert (2018), Chapter 8, “Education Services.”
Schultz, T.W. (1961) “Investment in Human Capital,” American Economic Review, 51:1, 1-17.
Week 12 (November 9): Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Security
Notes on Blackboard
Szirmai, Chapter 10, “Agricultural Development and Rural Development.”
Reinert K.A. (2015) “Food Security as Basic Goods Provision,” World Medical and Health Policy, 7:3. On Blackboard.
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
Recommended:
Davis, D.E. (2004) Discipline and Development: Middle Classes and Prosperity in East Asia and Latin America, Cambridge University Press.
The Economist (2017) “For Asia, the Path to Prosperity Starts with Land Reform,” October 12.
Henley, D. (2012) “The Agrarian Roots of Industrial Growth: Rural Development in South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa,” Development Policy Review, 30:S1, S25-SS47.
Lewis, A. (1954) “Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labor,” Manchester School of Economic and Social Studies, 22, 139-191.
Martin, W. and D. Mitra (2001) “Productivity Growth and Convergence in Agriculture versus Manufacturing,” Economic Development and Cultural Change, 49:2, 403-422.
Mwabu, G. and E. Thorbecke (2004) “Rural Development, Growth and Poverty in Africa,” Journal of African Economies, 13:S1, 16-65.
Reinert (2018), Chapter 4, “Food.”
Ruttan, V.W. (2002) “Productivity Growth in World Agriculture: Sources and Constraints,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 16:4, 2002, 161-184.
Week 13 (November 16): Industrialization
Notes on Blackboard.
Szirmai, Chapter 8, “Economic Development, Structural Change and Industrialization.”
Szirmai, Chapter 9, “Industrial Development.”
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
Recommended:
Bruton, H. (1998) “A Reconsideration of Import Substitution,” Journal of Economic Literature, 36:2, 903-936.
Goldin and Reinert, Chapter 3, “Trade.”
Rodrik, D. (1995) “Getting Interventions Right: How South Korea and Taiwan Grew Rich,” Economic Policy, 20, 53-97.
Rodrik, D. (2016) “Premature Deindustrialization,” Journal of Economic Growth,” 21:1, 1-33.
Week 14 (November 23): No Class
Week 15 (November 30): Summary and Review
Notes on Blackboard.
Discussion board: Please post one question/comment and respond to another student’s question/comment.
Recommended:
Reinert (2018), Chapter 12, “No Small Hope.”
Sumner, A., C. Hoy and E. Ortiz-Juarez (2020) “Estimates of the Impact of COVID-19 on Global Poverty,” WIDER Working Paper 2020-43.
Week 16 (December 7): Cumulative Final Exam
December 10: Briefing Paper Due
Briefing Paper
One requirement of this course is for you to write a briefing paper on a development topic of your choice. The paper is to be approximately 4,000 words. It is to be written in relatively non-technical language suitable for a policy-maker. The paper must include an Excel-prepared chart based on the World Development Indicators or other suitable source in some specific cases.
Try your best to include some quality research sources in your briefing paper, particularly from journals. Here, Google is not your friend! Google Scholar is your friend. So too is the e-journals resource of Mason’s library system. See also the Library’s resources for the ICP Program.
Ph.D. students have the option of working with me to develop a paper assignment that supports their progress in their program. Please contact me as early as possible in the semester to discuss this alternative option.
A paragraph describing you paper topic is due in Word format via email on October 19. The paper itself is due on December 10. The paper must be submitted via Blackboard to be assessed for originality by SafeAssign. You will have three attempts to do this.
Schar School Policy on Plagiarism
The profession of scholarship and the intellectual life of a university as well as the field of public policy inquiry depend fundamentally on a foundation of trust. Thus any act of plagiarism strikes at the heart of the meaning of the university and the purpose of the School of Public Policy. It constitutes a serious breach of professional ethics and it is unacceptable.
Plagiarism is the use of another’s words or ideas presented as one’s own. It includes, among other things, the use of specific words, ideas, or frameworks that are the product of another’s work. Honesty and thoroughness in citing sources is essential to professional accountability and personal responsibility. Appropriate citation is necessary so that arguments, evidence, and claims can be critically examined.
Plagiarism is wrong because of the injustice it does to the person whose ideas are stolen. But it is also wrong because it constitutes lying to one’s professional colleagues. From a prudential perspective, it is shortsighted and self-defeating, and it can ruin a professional career.
Nondiscrimination Statement
It is my personal policy not to discriminate among students based on race, ethnicity, religious faith, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or physical ability.
Disabilities
If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 993-2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through the DRC.
Other Relevant Books
Banerjee, A.V. and E. Duflo (2011) Poor Economics, Public Affairs.
Boo, K. (2012) Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, Random House.
Goldin, I. and K.A. Reinert (2012) Globalization for Development: Meeting New Challenges, Oxford University Press.
Moss, T.J. and D. Resnick (2018) African Development: Making Sense of the Issues, Lynne Rienner.
Reinert, K.A. (2021) An Introduction to International Economics: New Perspectives on the World Economy, Cambridge University Press.
Rodrik, D. (2007) One Economics, Many Recipes: Globalization, Institutions and Economic Growth, Princeton University Press.
Weil, D.N. (2014) Economic Growth, Routledge.