Objectif du cours
This course covers both theory and evidence related to the flourishing field of Quantitative Economic History. Topics considered includethe unified growth model, from the Malthusian, the post-Malthusian, to the modern growth; and the link between long-term economic growth and institutions, religion, culture, and trade.
The purpose of this course is for the students (i) to have a clear understanding of basic theories and empirical applications of the topics covered during the lectures, (ii) to critically summarize research articles and, (iii) constructively assess researcharticles.
The Course Learning Outcomes are what students should be able to do by the end of this course if the students participate fully in learning activities and successfully complete the assessment items.
|
Program Learning Goals and Outcomes |
Course Learning Outcomes |
Course Assessment Item |
|
|
This course helps you to achieve the following learning goals |
On successful completion of the course, you should be able to: |
This learning outcome will be assessed in the following items:
|
|
|
1 |
Knowledge
|
Describe the historical origins of the inequality in income per capita across countries and regions. Explain what accounts for the divergence in per-capita income across countries in the past two centuries. Discuss the respective roles of institutions, religion, culture, and trade on long-run economic growth. |
|
|
2 |
Critical thinking and assessing
|
Summarize the main argument of a research paper.
Critically point out the contribution and the shortcoming of a research paper.
Propose and discuss constructive, detailed and realistic suggestions for improvement of a research paper. |
|
|
3a |
Written communication
|
Organize and present argument using conceptual and quantitative analytical skills. |
|
|
3b |
Oral communication
|
Communicate critical argument in a concise and clear way. |
|
|
4 |
Teamwork
|
Discuss collaboratively to associate given research papers in light of the broader related topics.
|
|
Prérequis
The course is offered as part of the economics stream in the MSc program. Familiarity with contents of the following concurrent courses is assumed: Microeconomics I and II, Macroeconomics I and II, and Econometrics. Note that while the core of the course is Macro-grounded, many of the models presented are micro-founded.
Modalités pratiques
Lecturer : Maleke Fourati
The course consists of 8 sessions, each covering a separate topic in Quantitative Economic History.
Classes will be organize in two parts: Lectures and Workshops.
Lectureswill provide the grounding (theoretical and empirical) literature of the topics that make up the course by emphasizing the important concepts and methods of each topic.
Workshops will consist of students' presentations and discussions. One student (or one group of students) will present a recent research paper. Then, another student (or group of students) will present a report on the paper. A discussion with the class will follow. One paper will be presented and debated per session (no presentation in class 1).
Each student (or one group of students) will have two presentations with slides: one “standard” presentation and one report presentation (i.e., on a different paper) on recent papers to be distributed in the first session of the course. Each student should actively participate (i.e., prepare questions for discussion) to all presentations, hence read all papers that will be presented during the workshops. There will be one report on a research paper to submit individually. There will be a final exam made of multiple choice questions and open questions.
|
Assessment Task |
Weighting |
Length |
Relevant Date(s) |
|
Presentation (summary) |
15% |
App. 30 min |
TBA after Lecture 1 |
|
Presentation (report) |
15% |
App. 20 min |
TBA after Lecture 1 |
|
Participation (discussion) |
15% |
App. 20 min |
During Workshops |
|
Report |
15% |
3 pages |
April 2 |
|
Final Exam |
40% |
3 hours |
April 23 from 8:30-11:13am |
Bibliographie
The course focuses on research applications in the field of Quantitative Economic History with theoretical and econometrical foundations.
Main Textbooks
Galor, Oded, 2011, Unified Growth Theory, Economics Books, 1 ed., Princeton University Press.
Methodological Note
Berk, Jonathan B., Campbell R. Harvey, and David Hirshleifer, 2017, “How to Write an Effective Referee Report and Improve the Scientific Review Process.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31 (1): 231-44.
Articles and Papers –coming soon