国际发展前沿:理论与实务——2016年秋季学期双学位课程介绍

发布日期:2016-09-02 11:45    来源:北京大学国家发展研究院

Frontiers in International Development: Theories and Practices

~ Draft syllabus, subject to minor changes ~

 

Instructor: Dr. Jiajun Xu (jiajunxu@nsd.pku.edu.cn)

 

TA: Ms. Wenyi Wang (wangwenyish@163.com)

 

Time: 13:00 – 17:00 Saturday

Place: 二教210

 

Office Hour: 11:00 – 13:00 Saturday

Venue: 理科五号楼261

(To make an appointment, please contact TA before 5pm each Friday. When making an appointment, please provide a list of questions and/or discussion topics that you hope to get advice from the instructor.)

 

Language: English

 

Final Exam Date: 13:00 – 15:30, 24 December 2016 (Saturday)

 

Course Objectives:

Frontiers in International Development: Theories and Practices intends to provide an introduction to key concepts and analytical perspectives in the field of international development necessary for critical engagement with a wide range of development challenges. It aims to foster independent thinking among undergraduate students on frontier policy issues about international development.

The course targets up to 40 undergraduates who have passion for helping developing countries to achieve sustainable economic transformation and are keen to embark on a professional career in the field of international development. To provide students with opportunities to make dialogues with leading professionals in the field of international development, the instructor will invite experts and practitioners from multilateral development institutions as well as bilateral development agencies to deliver thematic lectures.

To help students to gain first-hand experiences of policy analysis and country consultation, teamwork is required to apply the Growth Identification and Facilitation Framework (GIFF) – an analytical tool of New Structural Economics proposed by Professor Justin Yifu Lin – to selected developing countries. To accomplish this exercise, students need to master how to use core databases and collect essential secondary information from various sources in order to write up policy reports in English. At the end of the semester, group presentations will be arranged in an environment of mock country consultation where representatives from these developing countries will provide feedback on these country studies. Excellent policy reports will be selected to be published in the Working Paper Series of the Centre for New Structural Economics at Peking University.

In order to encourage excellent students to become professionals in the field of international development, the instructor will recommend high-performing students to undertake internships in leading international development institutions such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Human Development Report Office, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Class Schedule:

Week

Topics

Date

1-3

Foundations

1

Introduction

Sep. 17

2

Globalization, International Institutions and Development

Sep. 24

3

New Structural Economics: Growth Identification and Facilitation Framework (GIFF)

Oct. 8

4-9

Frontier Development Topics

4

Agenda-Setting: From Multilateral Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Oct. 15

5

Rethinking Aid Effectiveness

Oct. 22

6

Industrial Policy Revisited

Oct. 29

7

International Finance and Development

Nov. 5

8

International Trade and Development

Nov. 12

9

The Breton Woods Institutions: Adapting to a Changing World

Nov. 19

10-11

China and International Development

10

Industrialization in Africa: Is China a Flying Dragon?

Nov. 26

11

China’s Ascendancy as a Development Financer: Reshaping International Rules?

Dec. 3

12-14

Presentations & Examination

12

Group Presentations I (Mock Country Consultation)

Dec. 10

13

Group Presentations II (Mock Country Consultation)

Dec. 17

14

Final Examination

Dec. 24

Requirements:

Each week about two required readings are provided in advance. Each student is expected to have completed all the required readings before class to the point where you can be called on to critique or defend any reading.

Readings:

The course is primarily journal article driven, but the recommended textbooks are as follows:

 

Lin, Justin Yifu. 2012a. New Structural Economics: A Framework for Rethinking Development and Policy. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

———. 2012b. The Quest for Prosperity: How Developing Economies Can Take Off. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press.

Todora, Michael P. ed. 1994. Economic Development (5th edition). New York & London: Longman.

Desai, Vandana and Robert B. Potter. Eds. 2014. The Companion to Development Studies (3rd edition). London and New York: Routledge.

Oatley, Thomas H. 2010. International Political Economy: Interests and Institutions in the Global Economy. Pearson Longman.

Frieden, Jeffry, David Lake, and Lawrence Broz, eds. 2010. International Political Economy: Perspectives on Global Power and Wealth. New York: W. W. Norton.

Grading: Class participation (10%):

 

In order to help students master key databases, the instructor will guide students to learn how to grasp basic skills of data collection. Simple exercises will be provided at the end of each class. Students are encouraged to make mini-talks within 5 minutes to share their findings at the beginning of each class. Students will earn a score of 5 for each mini-talk. Students are expected to make mini-talks twice during the semester. For those who are willing to make additional mini-talks, extra bonus of no more than 10 scores will be provided.

 

If students are absent from class (without prior noticing and approval by the instructor), they would get a score of minus 5 for each absence. In case of illness, student needs to notify TA to ask for sick leave before class.

 

Team report and group presentation (40%)

Students are divided into about 8 groups, with a collectively-selected coordinator (who will earn an additional 5 points). The teamwork will be conducted to complete a policy-oriented analytical task. The analytical outcome will be presented in a mock country consultation setting where practitioners and policymakers from developing countries will be invited to provide feedback. This will provide an opportunities for students to gain core competences of teamwork, analytical skills and stakeholder engagement as professionals in the field of international development and beyond.

 

Final examination (50%)

The primary purpose of the present course is to foster independent thinking among students on frontier development issues in the field of international development. That’s why the final examination adopts the approach of essay questions to encourage students to make an independent analysis of complex development issues which defy any standard answer.

 

Students are expected to select three out of ten questions to write up a short essay for each question. The essays will be judged based on effective argumentation and academic writing. The answers can be provided in either English or Chinese. English is encouraged with a bonus of 5 points.