Brown University
Economics 151 - Economic Development

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Overview | Class Notes | Class Announcements | Sections | Exams | Practice Problems | Links

Overview

Instructor: Professor Louis Putterman (e-mail: Louis_Putterman@brown.edu)
Teacher Assistent: Leandro Magnusson (e-mail: Leandro_Magnusson@brown.edu)
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 2:30-3:20pm and by appointment in 206 Robinson Hall, 64 Waterman Street
Class Time: C Hour (Monday, Wedneday and Friday 10:00 -10:50am)
Class Location: Wilson Hall - 309
Section Time: Friday 12:00 - 12:50 and 17:30 - 18:20
Section Location: TBA
Final Exam Group: 3 (9 a.m., Fri. 12/19/2003 )


Description: The economic problems of less developed countries and the theory of economic development, with emphasis on the role played by agriculture, industry, and foreign trade. Also: education, health, employment, and migration; capital accumulation; income distribution; institutional aspects; the role of price distortions; trade policies; social discount rates, investment criteria, and the general issue of state intervention.
Prerequisite: EC 111 or 113
Textbook: Perkins, Radelet, Snodgrass, Gillis, and Roemer. Economics of Development. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Fifth Edition (2000). ISBN: 0393975177.

Information on grade determination and grading policy, see Syllabus

.doc Syllabus
.pdf Syllabus

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Class Notes

Class notes are in Portable Document Format [.pdf] (viewing requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) and Word 97 Document format [.doc] (viewing requires Word 97+ or Microsoft Word Viewer):

.doc .pdf Chapter 1 - Introduction
.doc .pdf Chapter 2 - Economic Growth: Theory and Empirical Patterns
.doc .pdf Chapter 3 - Structural Change
.doc .pdf Chapter 4 - Development and Human Welfare
.doc .pdf Chapter 5 - Guiding Development: Markets versus Controls
.doc .pdf Chapter 6 - Sustainable Development
.doc .pdf Chapter 7 - Population
.doc .pdf Chapter 8 - Labor
.doc .pdf Chapter 9 - Education
.doc .pdf Chapter 10 - Health and Nutrition
.doc .pdf Chapter 11 - Capital and Saving
.doc .pdf Chapter 12 - Fiscal Policy
.doc .pdf Chapter 13 - Financial Policy
.doc .pdf Chapter 14 - Private Foreign Capital Flow, Debt, and Financial Crisis
.doc .pdf Chapter 15 - Agriculture
.doc .pdf Chapter 16 - Primary Exports
.doc .pdf Chapter 17 - Industry
.doc .pdf Chapter 18 - Trade and Development

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Class Announcements

Exercises from the Study Guide:

Chapter 1: All exercises are recommended
Chapter 2: skip the worked example , pp. 33-34 and exercise 1 which follows it. The remaining exercises are recommended
Chapter 3: skip worked example and exercise 1 which follows it. The remaining exercises are recommended
Chapter 4: skip exercises 3 and 5. The remaining exercises are recommended.

There will be no class meeting on November 26, the morning before
Thanksgiving.

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Sections

09/12 - Discussion of Harrod-Domar and Solow growth models


09/19 - Exercises from Study Guide:
chapter 2: Exercise 4 (pg 40);
chapter 4: Worked Example - exercise 1 (pg 66)

09/26 - Exercises from Study Guide:
chapter 4: Exercise 3 (pg 71); Exercise 4 (pg 73)
chapter 5: Worked Example - exercise 1 (pg 89)

10/03 - Exercises from Study Guide:
chapter 6: Exercise 3 (pg 114);
chapter 7: Exercise 2 (pg 137);
Problem of the Commons .pdf

10/10 - noon section: Midterm Review
there was no 17:30 section due Gary Becker Lecture

10/17 - Exercises from Study Guide:
chapter 9: Exercises 1 and 2 (pg 170-4);
there will be no 17:30 section. This section will be postpone to Monday 10/20 at 17:30 at Robison Hall (basement)

10/24 - Exercises from Study Guide:
chapter 10: Exercise 2 (pg 188);
chapter 11: Exercises 2, 3, 4 (pg 212-219)

10/31 - Review section formidterm exam

11/07 - Midterm correction

11/14 - Exercises from Study Guide:
chapter 14: Exercises 1,3 (pg 279 and 286);
chapter 15: Exercise 1 (pg 303)

11/21 - Exercises from Study Guide:
chapter 16: Exercises 1,3

12/05 - Exercises from Study Guide:
chapter 18: Exercises 3,6

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Exams

The first exam was handed back on October 10; those who did not attend can get it on the 15th or 17th. The average score was 76. To translate this into a prospective course grade, you can add 5 points and figure that an A is roughly a total of 90 or above, a B 80 to 89.5, a C 70 to 79.5. Scores of 65 to 70 are still in striking distance of passing, with a little improvement. Those below 65 need more substantial improvement to pass the course.

First exam answer key answer key mid1.pdf

.doc .pdf Sample questions for the first midterm exam

.doc .pdf Sample questions for the second midterm exam / .doc .pdf Answer key

.doc .pdf Sample questions for the final exam

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Practice Problems


.doc .pdf Problems on growth rates, the Harrod-Domar model, and growth accounting
.doc .pdf Problems on present value
.doc .pdf Problems on labor absorption, elasticity of substitution, labor migration, internal migration, discounting, and real interest rates

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Links

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