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Instructors: Prof. Dr. Richard Frensch
Event type:
Seminar
Org-unit: Studentische Forschung
Displayed in timetable as:
VT Growth&Sustain
Hours per week:
3
Credits:
5,0
Note: In your exam regulations, differing credits may have been specified.
Location:
Campus der Zeppelin Universität
Language of instruction:
Englisch
Min. | Max. participants:
5 | 35
Priority scheme: Standard-Priorisierung
Course content:
Topics
- Economic growth improves material standards of living. Sustainable development, in terms of ‘meeting the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs,' addresses the utilization of natural resources, the state of the environment, and intergenerational equity.
- The course will blend formal models, empirical evidence, and policies to provide a coherent treatment of economic growth and sustainable development.
Contents
- Introduction to Economic Growth;
- Growth Models and Empirical Analysis;
- Natural Resources and Limits to Growth;
- Sustainable Development: Concepts and Measurement;
- Natural Resources and Climate Change;
- Markets and the Role of Government;
- Policies and Practices for Sustainable Development;
We will move from concepts of “growth without nature,” via “nature as a problem for growth,” to finally arrive at “growth as a problem for nature (… and for us).” For this, we will consecutively widen the notion of capital, from physical capital only to human capital, finally to also encompass natural capital. Accordingly, we will widen our notion of sustainability.
Course Prerequisites
There are no formal course prerequisites. However, in terms of an adequate preparation, two courses of microeconomics and and macroeonomics each are highly recommended.
Educational objective:
By the end of the course, students should
- know about causes of economic growth and why some countries grow faster than others;
- gain insight into the limits to economic growth due to non-renewable resource constraints and environmental thresholds;familiarize themselves with questions on whether and how sustainable development is compatible with economic growth: can sustainable development be attained without addressing the extreme poverty that afflicts over a billion of the world’s population?
Further information about the exams:
Grading
Grading in this course is based on student achievement in a written homework (CME students) or on a 2:1 weighted combination of student achievements in written homework and oral presentation (PAIR and SPE students, to match their 2.5 extra credits).
Grading of written homework is based on the criteria as outlined below. Grading of oral presentations is based on style, consistency and cogency of the presentation.
Details on homework and presentation
Each student has to hand in a written homework (essay) of usual ZU length (20,000 characters without spaces). The language is English, the cover page should state title of the homework and student name. Essays are to be handed in as pdf documents, attached to emails both to me (frensch@ios-regensburg.de) and papers@zu.de. The deadline is January 31, 2019.
Students may choose one of three basic homework types: (a) a topical essay, or (b) a country growth and development profile, or (c) a description and critical assessment of an international cooperation agreement.
Ad (a): A topical essay
Review and summarize the introductory reading on the topic. Find additional references to discuss and critically assess the key points of the introductory reference.
Ad (b): A country growth and development profile
Use data, graphical information based on the data, and your knowledge on growth and development to answer three questions in your brief essay: (i) what accounts for “your” country’s level of GDP per capita and GDP per worker? (ii) what accounts for its long-run growth performance, and (iii) is the country’s growth process sustainable?
Ad (c): A description and critical assessment of an international cooperation agreement relevant for the topic of our course
First, identify some particular international cooperation agreement you deem relevant for the topic of our course (could, e.g., be a climate convention).
Then, review and summarize the international cooperation agreement.
Find additional references to discuss and critically assess the key consequences of the respective agreement on development and sustainability.
Essays can either be chosen from a list of topics (to be distributed in July) or you can suggest a paper topic (you will need to discuss your choice with me). You may contact me for homework assignments any time.
Hint: your knowledge on growth and development may widen during the course which is why the deadline for essays is 31 January. Consequently, presenters may hand in revised work by January; therefore, presentation assessment will be based on style, consistency and cogency of the presentation rather than on content.
Mandatory literature:
- The slides to the course (to be distributed during August) are mandatory reading.
- Recommended reading:
- Dasgupta, P. (2007): Sustainable Economic Development, ch. 7 in: Economics. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press
- Dasgupta, P. (2004): Human Well-Being and the Natural Environment, Oxford University Press
- Jones, Charles I., and D. Vollrath (2013): Introduction to Economic Growth, 3rd ed., W.W. Norton
- Selected academic papers and documents from international organisations will be recommended during the course.
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