This course provides an introduction to development economics, with special attention to the microeconomics of development, the role of international trade, as well as topics surrounding poverty and inequality. The course provides an overview of the canonical theories and tools of economic development, introducing students to the analysis of economic development and asking whether and how development can be achieved, and to what extent it can be associated with equality of opportunity and a fair division of economic returns. The course starts by introducing students to the challenges in conceptualizing, measuring, and monitoring (economic) development. Care is taken to clarify concepts, identify critical underlying assumptions, and acknowledge the important role played by normative judgments. Essential background knowledge in statistics, data analysis, and introductory econometrics will be briefly revised. With these essential concepts and tools in hand, students are then presented with a comprehensive overview of a range of conventional development theories, covering topics as diverse as education, labor markets, health, migration, and institutions. The course covers many of the principal paradigms proposed to understand economic development, addressing classical topics such as household economic decision-making, the role of labor and credit markets, the contribution and impact of domestic and international trade, the drivers of economic growth, and the role of public policy. Beyond the analysis of microeconomic topics of development, a further focus will be on the topics of growth-inequality-poverty as well as international trade.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) awards credits based on the ECTS system. Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course therefore, CEA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by VU Amsterdam. 1 ECTS equals 28 contact hours assigned by VU Amsterdam.