Double Master Degrees in International Economics and Development

Transcription

1 Double Master Degrees in International Economics and Development Detailed Course Content 1. «Development theories and contemporary issues for development» (20h) Lectures will explore the related themes of Economic Growth and Development. The course will be organized around topic areas that together provide comprehensive coverage of Development Economics (poverty and inequality, population growth, credit market and microfinance, institutions, aid). We will first analyze the main theories and models of economic development and study the determinants of economic growth, focusing on proximate factors such as labor and capital. Then, we will focus on important economic issues such as institutions and aid. This course combines theoretical sessions and more interactive sessions where major contemporary issues will be addressed as: Is population growth good for growth? Can microfinance help to reduce poverty? Is aid effective to achieve development? 2. Economy of globalization (30 h) This course examines the causes, measures and effects of globalization and trade openness on growth, poverty, inequalities and institutions. It will firstly introduce the concept of globalization in its multi-dimensions (trade, finance, labor, capital). Then, it will present the main empirical studies on the links between growth and openness, and will confront these studies with other explanatory factors of economic performance such as geography or institutions. Throughout the course, special attention will be paid to the measurement of these concepts and to quantitative analyses (gravity models; Input-Output analysis applied to trade) with applications to Vietnamese

2 3. Growth, poverty and inequality (20h) This course introduces students to the relationships among growth, poverty and inequality, in the context of a globalizing world. Particular focus will be paid to the implications for Vietnam. Among topics for study are: concepts and measurement of growth, development, poverty and inequality; definition and historical evolution of the world distribution of income, across and within countries; presentation of the two-way relationship between growth and distribution; analyzing how does growth influence poverty and inequality; analyzing how do poverty and inequality influence growth and development. The organization of the course includes lectures, readings, and presentations of articles generally dealing with the case of Vietnam, in order to stimulate discussion on the issues raised. The aim is to familiarize students with the current state of the debate on each issue, and help students develop critical perspectives and the ability to analyze empirical material to argue their own case. 4. Econometrics and Applied General Equilibrium Models (50h) Econometrics (30 hours) This is a course in econometrics, which alternates the theory of statistical estimation, and econometrics, as well as the operational implementation of these models using the software STATA. Models of simple and multiple regressions will be treated. Following the sessions, students will be able to solve by themselves different classical estimation problems which they may face. But they also will be able to go deeper in the econometrics modeling, as they will be familiarized with models with discrete dependent variables, panel analysis, duration models, and decomposition methods. Applied General Equilibrium Models (20 hours) The applied general equilibrium models (AGE-Models) propose a quantitative analysis of a large set of economic policies as taxation, pensions or environment policies but also trade-openness or financial policies. AGE-Models are an analysis tool as well as econometrics but responds to different questions. AGE-Models highlight the economic mechanisms at work when the analyzed policy is implemented. More precisely, AGE-models allow to decompose the channels through which policy affects the economy of a country. Various scenarios are then considered and evaluated. Several criteria can be used for select the "best" economic policy but the most common is the welfare of agents. Operational implementation of AGE-Models will be done using the software GAMS. 5. Development Macroeconomics (20h) Fiscal and Monetary play an important role in economic development. This course aims to better understand the role of fiscal and monetary policies on the real economy, growth and poverty and in particular tends to answer the following questions: What exchange rate regime and what type of monetary policy are best able to contribute to the achievement of development policy, and why? How can fiscal policy be tailored in order to maximize its impact on growth and poverty

3 reduction? To what extent do capital flows contribute to development, and what are the risks? Is it possible to manage these flows in an effective way (building up of reserves, capital flows management). How can we check the sustainability of both public and foreign debt? 6. Evaluation of Public policies (20h) To assess the effects of economic policies, controlled experiments constitute the "ideal" approach. However, the implementation of these experiments raises various problems. Some policies, including macroeconomic policies, are not appropriate for field experience. As far as targeted policies are concerned, conducting controlled experiments may raise legal, financial and practical difficulties. Several types of methods have been developed to address the need for economic policy evaluation. When it is no possible to conduct controlled experiments, we must resort to other methods as economic modeling and econometric simulations ( ex-ante evaluation methods) or estimation of the real effect of the policy ( ex-post evaluation methods) with nonexperimental data. The non-experimental data can be collected either in national accounts, from surveys or from administrative sources. This course aims to train the students to the main approaches for the evaluation of public policies and to familiarize them with the difficulties raised by each approach (counterfactual, causality, self-selection, etc.). Public policies conducted in Vietnam will be used as illustration (P-135, targeted transfers to reduce poverty). 7. Institutions, Governance and Corruption (20h) New econometrics of growth and more broadly development economics no longer consider that production factors and technical progress are sufficient to explain development path around the world in the long run. A new set of factors are put at the forefront, like institutions, governance, corruption etc. and supposed to interact with the more classical economic drivers to shape development successes (or failures). Furthermore, a large consensus support the idea that processes and the political economy of reforms is as important to sustainable and inclusive development than the content of public policies themselves. Beyond the academia, these new lenses have been adopted by the whole development community (donors and government) : ownership, participation, voice accountability are the key principles guiding the new international development initiatives to fight poverty (MDG, PRSP, etc.). Taking stock on the recent literature in this respect, this course aims at presenting the theoretical background and the main empirical results on these issues, both at macro and micro levels. The student will be familiarized with the key concepts and definition. Measurement challenges will be also substantively presented. Empirical results on Vietnam will be based on the Viet Nam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index survey (PAPI), Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS), Youth Integrity survey, Global Corruption Barometer. 8. Labour Markets and Informal Economy (20h) As labour income is the main source of income for most households in developing countries, and because of the difficulties that a large part of the population faces to get a decent job, especially the youth, the functioning of labour markets is of central importance in developing countries for well-being and for the performance of economies.

4 Building on the results of recent applied work, this course presents the characteristics and structure of labour markets in developing countries and aims at familiarizing students with various concepts and their measurements such as human capital, unemployment, underemployment, informal economy, dualism, segmentation, discrimination, decent work, child labour, etc. Application will be based on data from recent Labor Force Surveys in Vietnam. Optional lectures O1. Globalisation, Foreign Direct Investment, and Multinational Firms (15h) The objective of this course is to understand the paradoxes and effects of the globalisation of enterprises on international trade and employment. It offers empirical and theoretical explanation of the globalisation of enterprises and its determining factors, by considering the interdependence of its various elements (trade, FDI, finance, technology, immigration of workers), by examining the amplitude of various types of globalisation strategies of firms as relocation in search of lower wages and their extension to services and new technologies. This course deals also with the effects of globalisation on enterprises, in particular on employment, on specialization, on the internationalisation of R&D, and on the technological specialisation of countries and regions. O2. Demography, governance and savings (15h) The majority of the countries around the world have experienced aging of their populations. The aging process will have a strong impact on standard of living, on social security expenditures (old age, health security), on household and pension funds accumulation. In developing countries, demographic changes are also an important issue in term of social security coverage (old age, health security) and savings. The course will covers developed and developing countries as well as demographic issues in Vietnam, will present the new risks and aspects related to demographic changes and will focus on the relationship between demographics structure, saving, household and pension funds accumulation. O3. Analysis on poverty and inequalities This seminar aims to familiarize students with concepts and tools for measuring and analyzing poverty and inequalities. Using individual data on Vietnam, students learn to use various indicators of welfare, establish poverty profiles and analyze intra-country inequality in terms of access to the labor market, health or education for example. The goal is that students develop a comprehensive diagnosis of poverty and inequality in a country that can assist in the formulation of policies to reduce poverty, but also to familiarize student with the STATA software. Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey will be used for the application. O4. Health and development The objective of the seminar is to present the issues related to health in developing countries. It is based on a reading, presentation and discussion of the recent literature published on these issues, with focus on topics chosen with students.

5 O5. Education and development (15h) In developing countries, education is often viewed as the main tool to fight poverty as it can help individuals improve their social conditions, emancipate, find better jobs, thereby increasing the earnings from their labour. Yet in reality, while the importance of education is emphasized as inherently related to the development and well-being of people, its economic efficiency is more arguable. It is generally recognised that the gap between education and employment continues to expand. This gap between investments in education and the availability of real opportunities on the labour market creates a severe challenge for policy makers in developing countries: does education still protect against poverty and social exclusion in developing countries? How efficient are public expenses in education? Which education policy has to be implemented in developing countries? This course aims to familiarize the student with the key concepts and results of recent research bridging education and development economics, in particular on Vietnam. O6. Culture and Development (15h) In the recent years, economists have made progress in understanding economic development by integrating culture as a key determinant. In this trend, the role of culture, for a longtime neglected by the discipline, is now receiving and increasing attention among economists. Culture affects relationships between people, their preference and behaviors, and is a constitutive part of individuals well-being, and, as such, has great influence on economic outcomes. New bridges across different disciplines of the social science have permitted the emergence of new areas of research and allowed important progress in addressing the relationship between culture and economic development at the microeconomic level. This course will first familiarize students with the on-going conceptual discussions among development thinkers and practitioners on the relationship between culture and economic development, and introduce the main concepts and definitions. Recent empirical findings in the field of cultural economics will be presented, notably research related on social capital, family structure and gender. The course will also address measurement and methodological challenges, and examples from Vietnamese and cross-country analyses of the World Value Survey (WVS) data will be used as support. Finally, the question of cultural diversity and public policy will be addressed.

6 Course organization Year 1 Year 2 Months hours ECTS UPD Methodology 45 4 ECTS GASS Mandatory course for GASS degree only Philosophy Corruption prevention English English English Mandatory course for GASS and UPD degrees Specialty courses (choice of 3 courses); Mandatory for GASS and UPD degrees Master s thesis 1. Development theories and contemporary issues for development 2. Economy of globalization 3. Growth, poverty and inequality 4. Econometrics and Applied General Equilibrium Models 5. Macroeconomics of Development Public policies 7. Institutions, governance & corruption 8. Labour Markets & Informal Economy O1: Globalisation, Foreign Direct Investment and Multinational Firms O2:Demography, governance & savings O3: Analysis on poverty & inequalities

7 Mandatory for GASS and UPD degrees Project Mandatory for GASS and UPD degree 6 6 Other specialty courses: O4: Health and Development; O5: Education and Development; O6: Culture and Development