Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Alison Vicary
Contact via Via iLearn
E4A437
TBA
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(PSY122 or STAT150 or STAT170) and 6cp at 200 level including (ECON200 or ECON201 or ECON203 or ECON204 or ECON214 or ECON215)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
Despite robust economic growth across the globe in the last decades, around one billion people in the world still suffer from the effects of underdevelopment and poverty. This unit will give students a critical understanding of the inherent problems facing underdeveloped and developing countries. It will provide an in-depth analysis of the different explanations and measures that may be taken to foster economic development and to relax the constraints that slow it down. An integral component of the unit is discussion of the most recent research by economists who work in the field, testing and devising cheap and feasible policy solutions to improve outcomes for the global poor. Focusing on specific examples, such as the prevalence of diseases such as malaria or the schooling outcomes of children in poor households, we will investigate and critically evaluate the effectiveness of existing policy measures and discuss ways to improve our policy response to enduring development challenges.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
1. All the worksheets and reports are to be submitted electronically via the ECON336 ilearn site.
2. No extensions will be granted for the worksheets. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for disruption of studies is made and approved.
3. No extensions will be granted for the Report, "Are You Different to the Poor.". There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark, for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply, for cases in which an application for disruption of studies is made and approved. No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.
4. You must submit all pieces of assessment. Since the worksheet component of the assessment is composed of several pieces, you will be assumed to have submitted the worksheets, if 3 out of 4 of the marked worksheets have been satisfactorily submitted.
5.Your final result is the summation of your results for each piece of assessment.
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
If you apply and are granted a Disruption to Studies, you will then have to abide by the following:
1. With regard to the Worksheets, you must submit the assessment 3 days from the date you are granted the disruption to studies.
2. With regard to the Report, "Are you Different to the Poor" you have 4 days from the date you are granted the disruption to studies to submit the assessment.
3. With regard to the Final Examination, you will be required to sit the exam during the official supplementary exam period.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Lessons & Class Worksheets | 40% | No | Most Weeks |
Are you different to the poor? | 30% | No | Various weeks |
Living on One Dollar a Day | 30% | No | Examination Period |
Due: Most Weeks
Weighting: 40%
Most weeks you will be expected to submit the answers to a series of questions, known as a worksheet which relate to the current week's lecture. To be able to participate with the material in the worksheet, which will be discussed during the class, you must read the relevant chapter from the 'textbook' and watch any nominated videos. Typically this material will form a multimedia "Lesson" that you are expected to complete prior to coming to class. You will find these "Lessons" on ilearn in the appropriate folder. The "Lessons" are an essential component of the course. Embedded in each multimedia lesson will be some short mostly multiple choice questions, which you much complete so that your worksheet is eligible for marking.
For more information on this assessment check out the relevant folder on the ECON336 ilearn page.
Due: Various weeks
Weighting: 30%
Poor families say those living on a couple of dollars a day, as do richer families all make decisions about food, education, healthcare, fertility, borrowing and savings. The big difference is that families living on a couple of dollars a day and our families in Australia make decisions about these issues in quite different contexts.
Use the ideas and experiments discussed in the classes to analyse the fundamental differences (or similarities) in the behaviour, institutions and consequent outcomes for the poor and your family.
More information will be made available in the relevant folder on the ECON336 ilearn site.
Due: Examination Period
Weighting: 30%
The final exam will be based on an analysis of the documentary "Living on One Dollar a Day." The documentary is made by a couple of US university students studying economics, who go to a poor rural village in Guatemala for a couple of months and try to live on 1USD/day. The exam will consist of a series of questions that asks you to assess the ideas presented (or not presented) in the documentary, using the ideas discussed in this course.
You can take into the examination room, two A4 sheets of typed or hand-written notes.
The "Living on a Dollar a Day" documentary can be found at the following website:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtL_nsWCo7s
You will be provided with more information on the ECON336 ilearn site.
There will be one three-hour session each week. Students are advised to attend all sessions. A major component of your assessment, the week;y worksheets will be discussed during this time period. These worksheets are an integral component of our face-to-face contact.
For most topics, there will be an online lesson to be completed prior to coming to class. These lessons will be available in the relevant topic folder. The lessons are designed to guide through some of the course content for the week. Embedded in the lessons will be a series of short mostly multiple choice questions to assist you with the learning process.
Thursday 12-3 pm in Room E7B100
Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo (2011) "Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty," USA, Perseus Books Group.
This book is written by two well-known development economists from MIT, one of the world's best universities for economics. It is a great read summarising the latest research on the lives of the poor, their problems, how they make decisions, and the environment in which these decisions are made. It discusses the reasons the poor can remain trapped in poverty. It also importantly presents and assesses the many micro-policy interventions intended to improve their lives.
The book also introduces you to some of the more recent ideas and approaches in economics. It introduces the reader to a new and exciting type of empirical study. This is the world of the randomised experiment where economists collect their own data in the field, observing the behaviour of the poor and the institutions (that don't sometimes exist) and policies that purport to assist them. These experiments use a similar method to scientists who conduct drug trials. In this research world, the economist gets out into the field, designing experiments so to understand the lives of the poor.
Another compelling aspect of the book is that it discusses research that does not assume imaginary economic agents who reach optimal outcomes. The research discussed in the book, explains the ways poor people make decisions providing evidence that sometimes people make mistakes or can't quite attain their goals, as they can become overwhelmed by the complexities and difficulties of their lives. The ultimate aim of much of the research of this imperfect world is to assist in the design of policy to improve the lives of the poor.
Many of the findings are surprising and the book offers no grand solutions or answers to poverty. It instead argues that the research provides information on how to improve the lives of the poor one small well thought out policy intervention after another. Most of these policy interventions are small and not particularly glamorous.
This book is available from the coop bookshop.
You may also wish to avail yourself of the resources associated with the poor at the following website
It is a good resource designed to assist students and educators.
Additional important materials including the required readings, videos and assessment tasks will be placed in the appropriate topic section on the ilearn site each week. It is your responsibility to access the website weekly to ensure you keep up with the requirements of the course.
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TOPIC |
Required Reading Prior to Lecture |
PART 1: PRIVATE LIVES |
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1 |
Introduction: The Aid Debate & the Poverty Trap |
Poor Economics, pp.1-16, pp20-22 |
2 |
A Billion Hungry & Malnourished People: Can They Afford a Better Diet?
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Poor Economics, pp.19-40 |
3 |
The Easy Health Problems have not been Fixed. Are there any New Solutions to an Old Problem? |
Poor Economics, pp.41-70 |
4 |
Why Poor School Students Learn so Little? Are there any Cheap Solutions? |
Poor Economics, pp.71-102 |
5 |
Fertility, Gender Discrimination: How do families really make decisions about these issues? |
Poor Economics, pp.103-132 |
PART 2: INSTITUTIONS |
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6 |
More Risk, Little Insurance Cause Catastrophic Outcomes for the Poor |
Poor Economics, pp.133-156 |
7 |
The Poor and Getting Access to Credit |
Poor Economics, pp.157-182 |
8 |
Do the Poor find it Harder to Save? |
Poor Economics, pp.183-204 |
9 |
A Billion Unhappy Poor Entrepreneurs |
Poor Economics, pp.205-234 |
10 |
What About the Lousy Institutions and the Awful Politics? |
Poor Economics, pp.235-265 |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration
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ECON336 is different to the unit offered in previous years, introducing students to the some of the latest microeconomic research in Development Economics. This is reflected in the change in the textbook and the nature of the assessment.