Institutions, Governance, and International Development PADM-GP 2201 Fall 2017 Professor Salo V. Coslovsky , Office 3096 Office Hours: By appointment (email me) Location: 24 Waverly Place - Room 667 This version: Sept 6th 2017 Course description Why are some nations, provinces, and cities rich while others are poor? This is a central question in international development, and this course addresses it by examining the challenges of institutional and governance reform in low- and middle-income countries. The of international development rose in prominence after World War II, when the western world grappled with the reconstruction of Europe, decolonization in parts of Africa and Asia, and the relatively low standards of living in Latin America. Since then, progress has been uneven. On the positive side, the number of people living in poverty has decreased considerably and access to health, housing, electricity and education has gone up. And yet, problems remain not only in historically disadvantaged localities but all over the world. The challenge of international development remains enormous, and the meaning, ethics, and appropriateness of this enterprise continue to be highly political and therefore hotly contested. Not surprisingly, reasonable people disagree on what development is, what should be pursued first, how it ought to be done, and who should pay the costs and reap the benefits. This course addresses a narrow slice of this large pie. To be clear, it does not examine the politics and practices of foreign aid, it does not focus on NGOs or social enterprises, and it does not emphasize the role played by international or multilateral organizations. Rather, it examines two critical challenges faced by elected politicians, career civil servants, activists and their allies around the world: (1) How to create vibrant and dynamic markets (including markets for products, services, capital, and so everyone can benefit from specialization and the gains from trade, and (2) How to create resilient and responsive government agencies that can complement, sustain and tame these markets. Correspondingly, the course is divided into two modules. The first one, named provides a “Institutions” brief survey of the history of development thinking, from the Push” (class 2) to the recent emphasis “Big on institutions & governance (class 9). The second module (class 10 to 13) explores the challenges of
Institutions, Governance, and International Development PADM-GP 2201 Fall 2017 Professor Salo V. Coslovsky , Office 3096 Office Hours: By appointment (email me) Location: 24 Waverly Place - Room 667 This version: Sept 6th 2017 Course description Why are some nations, provinces, and cities rich while others are poor? This is a central question in international development, and this course addresses it by examining the challenges of institutional and governance reform in low- and middle-income countries. The of international development rose in prominence after World War II, when the western world grappled with the reconstruction of Europe, decolonization in parts of Africa and Asia, and the relatively low standards of living in Latin America. Since then, progress has been uneven. On the positive side, the number of people living in poverty has decreased considerably and access to health, housing, electricity and education has gone up. And yet, problems remain not only in historically disadvantaged localities but all over the world. The challenge of international development remains enormous, and the meaning, ethics, and appropriateness of this enterprise continue to be highly political and therefore hotly contested. Not surprisingly, reasonable people disagree on what development is, what should be pursued first, how it ought to be done, and who should pay the costs and reap the benefits. This course addresses a narrow slice of this large pie. To be clear, it does not examine the politics and practices of foreign aid, it does not focus on NGOs or social enterprises, and it does not emphasize the role played by international or multilateral organizations. Rather, it examines two critical challenges faced by elected politicians, career civil servants, activists and their allies around the world: (1) How to create vibrant and dynamic markets (including markets for products, services, capital, and so everyone can benefit from specialization and the gains from trade, and (2) How to create resilient and responsive government agencies that can complement, sustain and tame these markets. Correspondingly, the course is divided into two modules. The first one, named “Institutions” provides a brief survey of the history of development thinking, from the “Big Push” (class 2) to the recent emphasis on institutions & governance (class 9). The second module (class 10 to 13) explores the challenges of
PADM-GP.2201.001.docx