BAEcon Development Studies

The unit aims to:

• Provide an intermediate-level exposure to modern research in economic history, with a focus on comparative and quantitative aspects. 
• Enhance student's understanding of how economics can be applied to explain or help to understand past events, many of which still affect us today. 

We will cover the economic (and when relevant, political) development of different societies in the past, with a focus on Europe but a comparative (and quantitative) dimension also present whenever possible.

Students will apply economic analysis to understand the past. But they will also realise 
how the past can itself be informative about economics as a discipline. By studying the economic aspects of past in a rigorous manner, students will develop a deeper understanding of not just history, but also the present. It will become clear to them which features of the modern world are recent, and which have been always with us. These skills will prepare them for a range of careers requiring knowledge of economic analysis and historical change, such as business administration or policy advising.

Students will develop presentation and interpersonal skills through participation in tutorial sessions.

(ECON10221 OR ECON10331 OR ECON10171) AND (ECON10252 OR ECON10241 OR ECON10181) AND (ECON10072A OR ECON10072B OR SOST10062)

The unit aims to: 

1. Provide an intermediate-level exposure to modern research in economic history, with a focus on comparative and quantitative aspects. 
2. Enhance student's understanding of how economics can be applied to explain or help to understand past events, many of which still affect us today.

Provisional

Topic 1: Introduction (1 lecture).
Topic 2: Geography (1 lecture). 
Topic 3: Institutions (1 lecture). 
Topic 4: Culture (1 lecture). 
Topic 5: Demography (1 lecture). 
Topic 6: Colonisation (1 lecture). 
Topic 7: Why did Northwestern Europe become rich first? (1 lecture). 
Topic 8: Britain’s Industrial Revolution (1 lecture). 
Topic 9: The rise of the modern economy (1 lecture). 
Topic 10: Industrialization and the world it created (1 lecture). 

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

We will cover the economic (and when relevant, political) development of different societies in the past, with a focus on Europe but a comparative (and quantitative) dimension also present whenever possible.

Students will apply economic analysis to understand the past. But they will also realise how the past can itself be informative about economics as a discipline. By studying the economic aspects of past in a rigorous manner, students will develop a deeper understanding of not just history, but also the present. It will become clear to them which features of the modern world are recent, and which have been always with us. These skills will prepare them for a range of careers requiring knowledge of economic analysis and historical change, such as business administration or policy advising.

Students will continue to develop their ability to read economic literature, including research articles; they will have to produce a sustained and coherent written argument; and they will engage in classroom discussion in the form of a weekly debate which contrasts two different interpretations about one particular historical episode (e.g. the Industrial Revolution).

Students will develop presentation and interpersonal skills through participation in tutorial sessions.

40% Online short answer tests (in-term, 6 tests, 500 words max each, 2 will be randomly picked to be marked)

10% Research proposal and outline (500 words max) – group work  

50% Term paper (3000 words max) and reply to comments on proposal (250 words max) – group work

• Tutorial feedback.
• Office hours.
• Revision sessions.

The textbook for this course is: 

• Mark Koyama and Jared Rubin (2022). How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth. Wiley

In addition, students will be given two weekly research articles for the classroom discussion. 

For additional and background reading about economic history and comparative development, take a look at: 

• Larry Neal and Rondo Cameron (2016). A Concise Economic History of the World: From Paleolithic Times to the Present. Oxford University Press 
• Robert Allen (2011). Global Economic History: A Short Introduction. Oxford University Press 
• Karl G. Persson and Paul Sharp (2015). An Economic History of Europe. Cambridge University Press 
• Oded Galor (2022). The Journey of Humanity. Penguin