The question that this course aims to answer is “why some countries are rich and others are poor?” The course is organized in two modules. Module 1 studies proximate determinants of income differences across countries: physical capital, human capital (education and health), population growth, and productivity (technology). Module 2 examines why countries are different in terms of physical/human capital and productivity, at the first place. This module discusses the role of deep determinants such as geography, institutions, culture, religion, state capacity, and historical events (colonialism, slavery, wars, etc). By the end of the course, students will retain a clear structure in their minds to explain economic differences across countries.
Lecture Slides, Fall 2020
Cross-country Differences
Physical Capital
Population
Human Capital
Productivity: the Role of Technology
Productivity: the Role of Efficiency
Open Economy
Income Inequality
Geography, Climate, Natural Resources
Institutions or Culture?
Religions
Overseas Expansion (Trade, Slavery, Colonialism, Missionaries)
Wars and Conflicts
State Capacity
Fractionalization
Immigration