Introductory description

Debt, money, and financial markets are increasingly central to the prospects of and challenges for global sustainable development, both on a global scale and in terms of individual relations of poverty. This is reflected in the breadth of targets incorporated into the Sustainable Development Goals around access to financial services (e.g. 2.3; 5.A; 8.10; 9.3; 10.C), financial stability and integrity (e.g. 2.C; 10.5; 16.A, 17.4, 17.13).

Financial markets, however, are often presented as a highly complex and technical subject best left to the ‘experts’. Even in the SDGs, finance is somewhat backgrounded even as its importance to achieving particular goals is recognised. The primary aim of this module, then, is to help de-mystify the roles that money, debt, and finance play in processes of sustainable development.

Module web page

Module aims

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.

Week 1: Introduction

Part I: Economic Dimensions of Debt, Money, and Finance

Week 2: A Short History of the Global Monetary and Financial System (Lecture 1) - The lecture and seminar for this week will introduce basic concepts (including money, exchange rate policy, capital mobility, and the role of national and global governance) as well as a brief history of the contemporary global financial system, and causes and consequences of financial crises. Seminars will draw on a comparative analysis of Brazil and Malaysia to examine the obstacles and opportunities this system presents for developing countries and potential responses.

Week 3: Financial Crises - This week will examine financial crises more closely, focusing in particular on debates about causes of crisis, and on the politics of responses to financial crises. Seminars will develop these ideas using case studies of Greeca and Argentina.

Week 4: Financialization and Development (Lecture 2) - The lecture and seminar in this week will introduce the concept of ‘financialization’, as well as key debates around it. Seminars will consider the implications of financialization for sustainable development through a case study of South Africa.

Part II: Environmental Dimensions of Debt, Money, and Finance

Week 5: The Rise and Fall of Emissions Trading (Lecture 3) - The lecture in this week will introduce key concepts around the relationships between financial markets and climate change (e.g. externalities, emissions trading, green bonds, ethical investment, divestment, climate risk disclosure) and particular challenges involved (e.g. verification, greenwashing). The seminar will consider the challenges of emissions trading and whether and how they might be overcome by looking at a case study of the emergence and failure of the Clean Development Mechanism.

Week 6: Ethical Investment, Divestment, and Climate Risk Disclosure - Seminars in this week will consider the ethics, politics, and potential effectiveness of different ways of mobilizing investment to mitigate climate change -- through certified ethical investment and green bonds, through divestment from fossil fuels, or through mandatory climate risk disclosures.

Week 7: Climate Change, Natural Disasters, and Insurance (Lecture 4) - The lecture in this week will introduce basic concepts in insurance (e.g. insurable risks, moral hazard, adverse selection, reinsurance) and debates about insurance as a means of climate change adaptation. Seminars will consider these questions through a comparison of the African Risk Capacity and an index-based agricultural insurance project in Senegal.

Part III: Social Dimensions of Debt, Money, and Finance

Week 8: From Microcredit to Financial Inclusion (Lecture 5) - The lecture for this week will outline the emergence of and key debates about ‘financial inclusion’ as a policy framework and will introduce key debates about digital technologies and financial inclusion. Seminars will engage these debates through a critical assessment of the G20 Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion.

Week 9: Technology to the Rescue? Fintech and Poverty Finance - Seminars in this week will consider the effectiveness and ethical implications of new technologies aimed at extending financial services to the poorest. Students will engage with case studies of alternative forms of credit scoring, including firms using machine learning algorithms and psychometric credit scores.

Week 10: Research Paper Workshop

Learning outcomes

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

• By the end of the module, students should be able to understand, apply, and critique cross-disciplinary perspectives on debt, money, and finance, and their relation to sustainable development.
• By the end of the module, students should be able to analyse the social, economic, and environmental impacts and implications of global finance.
• By the end of the module, students should be able to engage critically in key contemporary debates about the role of money, debt, and finance in sustainable development.
• By the end of the module, students should be able to develop an independent research project on a topic related to the module.
• By the end of the module, students should be able to demonstrate writing and communication skills, particularly an ability to present research clearly and concisely.

Indicative reading list

The readings are composed primarily of articles, book chapters, and policy documents relevant to each specific topic covered in the course. They will be made available to students on Moodle, and can mostly be accessed through the library.

The following is a sample list:

Asli Demirgüç-Kunt and Ross Levine (2001) Financial Structure and Economic Growth, Cambridge: MIT Press.

David Graeber (2011) Debt: The First 5000 Years, Brooklyn: Melville House.

Natascha van der Zwan (2014) ‘Making Sense of Financialization’, Socio-Economic Review 12 (1): 99-129.

Ngaire Woods (2006) The Globalizers: The IMF, The World Bank, and Their Borrowers, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Peter Newell and Matthew Paterson (2011) Climate Capitalism: Global Warming and the Transformation of the Global Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Alliance for Financial Inclusion (2010) Innovative Financial Inclusion: Principles and Report on Innovative Financial Inclusion from the Access Through Innovation sub-Group of the G20 Financial Inclusion Experts Group, Seoul: G20.

Daniela Gabor and Sally Brooks (2017) ‘The Digital Revolution in Financial Inclusion: International Development in the Fintech Era’, New Political Economy 22 (4): 423-436.

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Research element

Research skills are embedded into the teaching strategy of the module. The module requires students to develop an independent research project on a topic related to the module.

Interdisciplinary

This is an optional module on the Global Sustainable Development course which adopts an interdisciplinary approach spanning the arts, humanities, social and natural sciences fields in order to engage with the major global challenges facing contemporary society, explore these 'big problems,' from a variety of perspectives and consider a range of possible solutions. Specifically, this module aims to equip students with advanced knowledge of various cross-disciplinary theories and empirical evidence on the determinants of inequalities, its consequences, and people’s attitudes to them.

International

This is an optional module on the Global Sustainable Development course which offers a unique trans-disciplinary and international learning experience that allows students to achieve breadth and depth of knowledge.

Subject specific skills

Ability to:
critically assess and analyse sustainability issues that need to be addressed, including real-life examples
use and apply established frameworks and methodologies for analysing the impact(s) of a behaviour or process
generate and evaluate different models of sustainable development to assess their likely impact
actively implement or contribute to changes that promote sustainable development within the scope of own learning experience
engage with real-life problems relevant to sustainable development
use historical knowledge and an understanding of the consequences of past actions to envision how futures may be shaped
identify the importance of empowering individuals and organisations to work together to create new knowledge
employ leadership for sustainable development by challenging assumptions and negotiating alternatives to unsustainable current practices
identify the opportunities to support and develop a progressive and resilient culture that encourages citizens, professions and institutions to put learning into practice

Transferable skills

Written communication skills
Oral communication skills
Working with others
Problem solving and analytical skills
Information technology
Numeracy
Research across various disciplines
Peer review