EC233-15 Development Economics (Microeconomics)

Department: Economics
Level: Undergraduate Level 2
Module leader: Thomas Martin
Credit value: 15
Module duration: 10 weeks
Assessment: Multiple
Study location: University of Warwick main campus, Coventry

Introductory description

This module allows students to develop an understanding of concepts at the core of development economics from a micro-economic perspective: (i) What is poverty?, (ii) How do agricultural households make decisions? (iii) Why do some children work? The core material will be taken from papers from academic journals, so students will start to see what development economists spend part of their time doing. Within this discussion there will be ample use of econometric techniques (sometimes using STATA) applied to micro development issues.

Module web page

Module aims

To introduce students to the key microeconomic issues facing developing economies. It is based on the modern analytical and empirical approach adopted by researchers, practitioners and international development institutions, with an emphasis on the most recent advances in the field.

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The module will typically cover the following topics:

Poverty Traps
Health and Nutrition
Education in Developing Countries
Gender and Households
Credit and Insurance Markets
Psychological Aspects of Poverty

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

Professional skills:...demonstrate they have learned to read and cite the relevant economic literature to address key questions on development from a microeconomic perspective. The teaching and learning methods that enable students to achieve this learning outcome are: Lectures, seminars and private study. The summative assessment methods that measure the achievement of this learning outcome are: Problem sets and examination.
Cognitive skills:...demonstrate they have extended their core skills in economic analysis and quantitative methods and will be able to apply this skill in the analysis of problems typical of a developing and less developed economy. The teaching and learning methods that enable students to achieve this learning outcome are: Lectures, seminars and private study. The summative assessment methods that measure the achievement of this learning outcome are: Problem sets and examination.
Key skills:...understand development economic studies. Use their content to engage with policy debates. The teaching and learning methods that enable students to achieve this learning outcome are: Lectures, seminars and private study. The summative assessment methods that measure the achievement of this learning outcome are: Problem sets and examination.
Subject knowledge and understanding the methods:...by the end of the module the student should be able to demonstrate their understanding of the key issues facing the poor in developing countries such as malnutrition and diseases, lack of education, gender inequality, or reduced access to credit and insurance. The students should also be able to use empirical evidence and economic reasoning to discuss the policies aimed at addressing these issues. The teaching and learning methods that enable students to achieve this learning outcome are: Lectures, seminars and private study. The lectures will present theoretical models backed with empirical evidence on the issues of interest, which will help to illustrate the application of these skills. The seminars will offer a forum to discuss and further understand the nuances involved in developing these skills. The summative assessment methods that measure the achievement of this learning outcome are: Problem sets and examination.

Indicative reading list

Please see Talis Aspire link for most up to date list.

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

Students will have the opportunity to develop skills in:
Analytical thinking and communication
Analytical reasoning
Critical thinking
Creative thinking
Strategic thinking
Problem-solving
Policy evaluation
Analysis of incentives
Concepts of Simultaneity and Endogeneity
Analysis of optimisation
Understanding of Uncertainty and Incomplete Information

Transferable skills

Students will have the opportunity to develop:
Research skills
Numeracy and quantitative skills
Data-based skills
IT skills
Written communication skills
Mathematical, statistical and data-based research skills

Study time

Type	Required
Lectures	20 sessions of 1 hour (13%)
Seminars	4 sessions of 1 hour (3%)
Private study	126 hours (84%)
Total	150 hours

Private study description

Private study will be required in order to prepare for seminars/classes, to review lecture notes, to prepare for forthcoming assessments, tests, and exams, and to undertake wider reading around the subject.

Costs

No further costs have been identified for this module.

You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment group D4

	Weighting	Eligible for self-certification
Group Project	20%	No
Examination	80%	No
Students may use a calculator

Assessment group R1

	Weighting	Study time	Eligible for self-certification
Examination - Resit	100%		No
Answerbook provided by department Students may use a calculator

Feedback on assessment

The Department of Economics is committed to providing high quality and timely feedback to students on their assessed work, to enable them to review and continuously improve their work. We are dedicated to ensuring feedback is returned to students within 20 University working days of their assessment deadline. Feedback for assignments is returned either on a standardised assessment feedback cover sheet which gives information both by tick boxes and by free comments or via free text comments on tabula, together with the annotated assignment. For tests and problem sets, students receive solutions as an important form of feedback and their marked assignment, with a breakdown of marks and comments by question and sub-question. Students are informed how to access their feedback, either by collecting from the Undergraduate Office or via tabula. Module leaders often provide generic feedback for the cohort outlining what was done well, less well, and what was expected on the assignment and any other common themes. This feedback also includes a cumulative distribution function with summary statistics so students can review their performance in relation to the cohort. This feedback is in addition to the individual-specific feedback on assessment performance.

Past exam papers for EC233

Pre-requisites

Any of:

EC106-24 Introduction to Economics OR
EC107-30 Economics 1

EC108-30 Macroeconomics 1 AND
EC109-30 Microeconomics 1

To take this module, you must have passed:

Any of

Courses

This module is Core for:

Year 3 of UIPA-L1L8 Undergraduate Economic Studies and Global Sustainable Development
Year 4 of UIPA-L1L9 Undergraduate Economic Studies and Global Sustainable Development (with Intercalated Year)

This module is Optional for:

TECA-L1PA Postgraduate Taught Economics (Diploma plus MSc)
- Year 1 of L1PA Economics (Diploma plus MSc)
- Year 2 of L1PA Economics (Diploma plus MSc)
UECA-3 Undergraduate Economics 3 Year Variants
- Year 2 of L100 Economics
- Year 2 of L116 Economics and Industrial Organization
Year 2 of UECA-4 Undergraduate Economics 4 Year Variants
Year 2 of UECA-LM1D Undergraduate Economics, Politics and International Studies
UPHA-L1CA Undergraduate Economics, Psychology and Philosophy
- Year 2 of L1CA Economics, Psychology and Philosophy
- Year 2 of L1CC Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (Behavioural Economics Pathway)
- Year 2 of L1CD Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (Economics with Philosophy Pathway)
- Year 2 of L1CE Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (Philosophy and Psychology Pathway)
- Year 3 of L1CA Economics, Psychology and Philosophy
- Year 3 of L1CC Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (Behavioural Economics Pathway)
- Year 3 of L1CD Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (Economics with Philosophy Pathway)
- Year 3 of L1CE Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (Philosophy and Psychology Pathway)
UPHA-L1CB Undergraduate Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (with Intercalated Year)
- Year 4 of L1CG Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (Behavioural Economics Pathway) (with Intercalated Year)
- Year 4 of L1CH Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (Economics with Philosophy Pathway) (with Intercalated Year)
- Year 4 of L1CJ Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (Philosophy and Psychology Pathway) (with Intercalated Year)
- Year 4 of L1CB Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (with Intercalated Year)
Year 3 of UMAA-GL11 Undergraduate Mathematics and Economics
UPHA-V7ML Undergraduate Philosophy, Politics and Economics
- Year 2 of V7ML Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Tripartite)
- Year 3 of V7ML Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Tripartite)
Year 4 of UPHA-V7MM Undergraduate Philosophy, Politics and Economics (with Intercalated year)

This module is Unusual option for:

UPHA-L1CA Undergraduate Economics, Psychology and Philosophy
- Year 2 of L1CA Economics, Psychology and Philosophy
- Year 3 of L1CA Economics, Psychology and Philosophy
UPHA-V7ML Undergraduate Philosophy, Politics and Economics
- Year 2 of V7MR Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Bipartite with Economics Major)
- Year 2 of V7MP Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Bipartite)
- Year 2 of V7ML Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Tripartite)
- Year 3 of V7MR Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Bipartite with Economics Major)
- Year 3 of V7MP Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Bipartite)
UPHA-V7MM Undergraduate Philosophy, Politics and Economics (with Intercalated year)
- Year 4 of V7MS Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Bipartite with Economics Major) (with Intercalated Year)
- Year 4 of V7MQ Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Bipartite) with Intercalated Year
- Year 4 of V7MM Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Tripartite) (with Intercalated year)

This module is Option list B for:

Year 2 of UPHA-V7ML Undergraduate Philosophy, Politics and Economics

This module is Option list C for:

UPHA-V7ML Undergraduate Philosophy, Politics and Economics
- Year 3 of V7MP Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Bipartite)
- Year 3 of V7ML Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Tripartite)
UPHA-V7MM Undergraduate Philosophy, Politics and Economics (with Intercalated year)
- Year 4 of V7MS Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Bipartite with Economics Major) (with Intercalated Year)
- Year 4 of V7MQ Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Bipartite) with Intercalated Year
- Year 4 of V7MM Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Tripartite) (with Intercalated year)

This module is Option list D for:

UPHA-V7ML Undergraduate Philosophy, Politics and Economics
- Year 2 of V7MR Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Bipartite with Economics Major)
- Year 3 of V7MR Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Bipartite with Economics Major)