Long-run Economic Growth

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, climate, natural resources, 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 differences in economic status across countries.