GRINNELL COLLEGE

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Professor Eliza Willis (Username WILLIS)

Carnegie 103

POL 354.01

Voice Mail: 4875

Political Economy of Developing Countries

Office Hours:

Spring 2001

TTh 1:15-4:05

 

This course focuses on the political economy of developing countries. Following an examination of the main issues and theoretical approaches (modernization, dependency and state centered) that have informed the study of development, we will apply these approaches to a comparison of recent development strategies pursued in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. This comparative analysis will emphasize the interplay between domestic and international factors in shaping the paths to economic transformation pursued in these countries. We will also examine how political factors have influenced the choice of alternative strategies for economic transformation and structural adjustment. In addition, we will consider the impact economic choices have had on political institutions. Finally, we will evaluate current thinking about how to attack the challenges posed by domestic corruption and continuing poverty .

Required Texts

Robert Klitgaard

Controlling Corruption

M.A. Seligson and J.T. Passé-Smith

Development and Underdevelopment (2nd ed)

The World Bank

World Development Report 2000

Course Packet

 

 

Grading

Seminar Participation

30%

Short paper #1

15%

Short paper #2

10%

Oral presentation of research paper

10%

Final Paper

35%

 

Weekly preparation of the reading and active involvement in seminar discussions are essential to the success of this course. Attendance alone will not meet this requirement.

Seminar participants will be required to write two short papers of approximately 5 pages in length. In the first paper you will prepare a critical analysis of one of the weekly reading assignments which you will then present to the seminar. You will also be required to prepare a research paper (15 to 20 pages in length) on the development of a specific less developed country (LDC) that you have selected for study. This research paper will be divided into two phases.

The first part will consist of a short paper (5 pages in length) that provides a brief statistical profile on the level of development reached by the LDC you have chosen. You should also include a working bibliography with this paper. The findings presented in this "country profile" will then be incorporated into the longer research paper in which you will analyze the political and economic factors that account for the developmental experience of the LDC under consideration. The principal findings of this paper will be presented to the entire seminar during the final weeks of the semester. Please note the following deadlines.

Choice of Country

1/31

Paper #1

Due date to be assigned

Paper #2

2/26

Working Bibliography

4/6

Oral presentation

Due date to be assigned

Research paper

5/18

 

Reading Assignments*

I.

The Meaning and Goals of Development

   

1/22

Course Introduction

 

World Bank, World Development Report 2000, Chapter 1

   

II.

Measuring Development

   

1/24

World Bank, World Development Report 2000, Chapters 2-3

   

III.

Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Development and Change

   

A. The Classic Thesis

   

1/29

Mitchell A. Seligson,"The Dual Gaps: An Overview of Theory and Research," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 3-8

   
 

WW. Rostow, "The Five Stages of Growth," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 9-16

   
 

Angus Maddison, "Income Growth, Income Gaps, and the Ranking of Nations," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 17-25

   
 

John T. Passé-Smith, "The Persistence of the Gap Between Rich and Poor Countries: Taking Stock of World Economic Growth, 1960-1993," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 27-40

   
 

B. Domestic Income Inequality

   

1/31

Simon Kuznets, "Economic Growth and Income Inequality," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 43-55

   
 

Montek S. Ahluwalia, "Income Inequality: Some Dimensions of the Problem," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 57-65

   
 

Klaus Deininger and Lyn Squire, "A New Data Set Measuring Income Inequality," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp.67-75

   
 

Edward N. Muller and Mitchell A. Seligson, "Inequality and Insurgency," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 77-92

   
 

C. The Classic Thesis Revisted

   

2/5

Moses Abramovitz, "Catching Up, Forging Ahead, and Falling Behind," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 95-114

   
 

William J. Baumol, "Productivity Growth, Convergence, and Welfare: What the Long-Run Data Show," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp.115-128

   
 

J. Bradford De Long, "Productivity Growth, Convergence and Welfare: Comment," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 129-139

   
 

Lant Prichett, "Forget Convergence: Divergence Past, Present and Future," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 159-165

   
 

D. Modernization Theory in Political Science

   

2/7

David C. McClelland, "The Achievement Motive in Economic Growth," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 169-186

   
 

Jeffrey Lewis, "Reevaluating the Effect of N-Ach on Economic Growth," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 187-194

   
 

Jim Granto et al, "The Effect of Cultural Values on Economic Development: Theory Hypotheses, and Some Empirical Tests," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 195-208

   

2/12

Lawrence Harrison, "Underdevelopment is a State of Mind," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp.231-240

   
 

*David Landes, "Culture Makes Almost All the Difference," in Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress, edited by Lawrence E. Harrison and Samuel P. Huntington

   
 

*Jeffrey Sachs, "Notes on a New Sociology of Economic Development," in Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress, edited by Lawrence E. Harrison and Samuel P. Huntington

   
 

E. Radical Perspectives: Dependency and World-System Theory

   

2/14

Theotonio dos Santos, "The Structure of Dependence," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 251-262

   
 

A. Valenzuela and S. Valenzuela, "Modernization and Dependency: Alternative Perspectives in the Study of Latin American Underdevelopment," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 263-276

   

2/19

Volker Bornschier and Christopher Chase-Dunn, "Transnational Penetration and Economic Growth," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 291-318

   
 

Glenn Firebaugh, "Growth Effects of Foreign and Domestic Investment," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 319-336

   
 

F. Institutional Approaches to Explaining Development

   

2/21

*Samuel Huntington "Political Development and Political Decay," World Politic 17, No. 3 (April 1965).

   
 

**Evans, P. "The State as a Problem and Solution: Predation, Embedded Autonomy, and Structural Change" On Library Reserve

   

2/26

No class session. Country Profile Due

   

2/28

Robert Bates, "Governments and Agricultural Markets in Africa," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 353-366

   
 

Erich Weede, "Why People Stay Poor Elsewhere," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 367-389

   
 

Michael Lipton, "Urban Bias and Inequality," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 389-394

   
 

Nancy Birdsall and Richard Sabot, "Inequality as a Constraint on Growth in Latin America," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 421-428

   

3/5

*Barbara Stallings, "International Influence on Economic Policy: Debt, Stabilization, and Structural Reform," pp. 41-88

   
 

*Karen Remmer, "Theoretical Decay and Theoretical Development: The Resurgence of Institutional Analysis, World Politics 50, No. 1 (October 1997): 34-61

   

V.

Explaining Development Strategies

   
 

A. Paths to Development in Industrializing Societies in East Asia and Latin America

   

3/7

*Stephan Haggard, Pathways from the Periphery, Chapters 1-2

   

3/12

**Frederic C. Deyo, "Introduction," in The Political Economy of the New Asian Industrialism, edited by Frederic C. Deyo, pp. 11-22, handout

   
 

**Nancy Birdsall and Frederick Jaspersen, "Lessons from East Asia’s Success," in Pathways to Growth:Comparing East Asia and Latin America edited by Nancy Birdsall and Frederick Jaspersen, pp. 1-12, On Library Reserve

   
 

**Gary Gerefi, "Rethinking Development Theory: Insights from East Asia and Latin America," in Comparative National Development edited by A Douglas Kincaid and Alejandro Portes, pp. 26-56, On Library Reserve

   

3/14

Michael Sarel, "Growth in East Asia: What We Can and What We Cannot Infer," in Seligson and Passé-Smith, pp. 407-421

   
 

**Bruce Cummings, "The Asian Crisis, Democracy, and the End of "Late" Development," in The Politics of the Asian Economic Crisis edited by T.J. Pempel, pp. 17-44, On Library Reserve

   

3/16-4/1

Spring Break

   
 

B. Paths to Development in Rural Societies in Africa

   

4/2

**Michael F. Lofchie, "The New Political Economy of Africa," in David. E. Apter and Carl G. Rosenberg, eds, Political Development and the New Realism in Sub-Saharan Africa, pp. 145-183 On Library Reserve

   
 

*Paul Collier and Jan Gunning, "Why Has African Grown Slowly," Journal of Economic Perspectives, Volume 13, No. 3 (Summer 1999): pp. 3-22

   

IV.

Addressing Impediments to Development: New Approaches to Reducing Corruption and Poverty

   

4/4

Robert Klitgaard, Controlling Corruption , chapters to be assigned

   

4/9-11

World Bank, World Development Report 2000, chapters to be assigned

   

4/13

Final Draft of Country Profile Due

   

V.

Class Presentations

   

4/16-18

Individual Paper Conferences (No class)

   

4/23-5/7

Class Presentations

   

5/9

Course Conclusion

   
 

Research Papers Due Friday, May 18 by 5 p.m. in the Carnegie Secretaries' Office. No exceptions will be made to this deadline.

   

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This page last modified February 23, 2001