This course examines the relationship between domestic as well as international institutions and economic development in a wide variety of settings. The goal is to better understand the political underpinnings of economic growth and development, as well as the effects of development on democratization.
The first half of the module explores the underpinnings of economic growth, sampling a wide array of theoretical perspectives, ranging from geography to the role of domestic institutions and in particular democratic governance. In the second half of the module, the causal arrow is reversed, and the module explores the role of economic growth for political development. Among other things, the focus will be on the influence of colonialism, international institutions and foreign aid on the development-democracy nexus.