BAEcon Economics

Knowledge about the realities of poverty has long informed policy making, although misinformation and exaggerated ideological arguments have often also influenced policy makers, and continue to do so. The material in this course is focused around understanding poverty in the developing world using evidence-based policy research. Specifically, students will learn how growth is defined and measured, many of the primary causes of poverty, and policy tools that can be drawn upon to help lift households out of poverty. The course is designed to develop skills that can be practically applied in the government and NGO sectors, as well as for students who may wish to take higher level development courses.

Successful practitioners rely on survey data, and students will learn how to use this type of data to conduct basic analysis and policy impacts. Students will also learn basic program evaluation technique, the basics of which will also be covered in tutorials. Hence, while it is desired, it is not necessary to have completed any econometrics courses.

(ECON10171 OR ECON10221 or ECON10331) AND (ECON10181 OR ECON10241 OR ECON10252)

(ECON10171 OR ECON10221 OR ECON10331) AND (ECON10181 OR ECON10241 OR ECON10252)

• To familiarise students with the theoretical and empirical aspects of economic development faced by developing countries;

• To provide students with key concepts of development economics;

• To provide students with the basic skills required for the development of an independent understanding of the current issues in development economics.

At the end of this course students should be able to:

• Understand how economic development is defined and the main issues surrounding this definition;

• Measure poverty and apply this to existing data;

• Understand the key macro- and micro-level issues surrounding why poverty persists in some countries;

• Understand primary anti-poverty policy tools available to policy-makers, and apply these tools correctly in a given context;

• Use household-level survey data to estimate poverty and policy impacts; and

• Express ideas coherently in structured essays.

Welfare measurement

Poverty and Welfare (definition, measurement)

Economic growth and poverty

Health and education

Bargaining power (gender, age and households)

Foreign aid, taxation and redistribution

Policies to address health and education 

Synchronous activities (such as Lectures or Review and Q&A sessions, and tutorials), and guided self-study

Understand how economic development is defined and the main issues surrounding this definition 

Understand the key macro- and micro-level issues explaining why some countries grow slowly compared to others

Critically evaluate literature relating to economic growth and poverty issues 

Understand primary anti-poverty policy tools available to policy-makers, and apply these tools correctly in a given context 

Understand the use of data to estimate poverty and policy impacts

Express ideas coherently in structured essays

30% Mid-Term Exam - 30 minutes

70% Final Exam - 90 minutes

Feedback on-script and group wide feedback

You do not need to buy any textbooks for this course unless you would like to. I will upload all readings to Canvas.

I am drawing from:

1. The Economics of Poverty. History, Measurement, Policy by Martin Ravallion (2016), Oxford University Press.

This is an excellent book based on practice: Professor Ravallion has spent most of his career at the World Bank, leading the Development Economics Research Group in Washington, DC.

2. Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty, by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo (2011)

3. Good Economics for Hard Times, by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo (2019)

If you are interested in reading more about economic development, the standard (but somewhat outdated) textbook at the undergraduate level is:

Debraj, R. (1998), Development Economics, last edition, Princeton University Press.

Any additional readings and a full set of references will be listed on the slides for each lecture. Any readings that need to be done in advance will be indicated on Canvas through announcements well in advance of the lecture.

For every 10 course unit credits we expect students to work for around 100 hours. This time generally includes any contact times (online or face to face, recorded and live), but also independent study, work for coursework, and group work. This amount is only a guidance and individual study time will vary.

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2027 will be £10,050 per annum. Tuition fees for international students will be £33,100 per annum.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

Learn more about student finance options for UK students.

Learn more about fees and finance for international students.

As an international student you may be eligible for our Global Futures Scholarships. This is open to students starting their studies in September 2026.