Course teacher(s)
P.-Guillaume MEON (Coordinator)ECTS credits
5
Language(s) of instruction
english
Course content
Cross-country differences in standards of living are baffling. The purpose of this course is to discuss their causes.
To do so, it will survey the main explanations that economics has investigated, both theoretically and empirically.
The following topics will be covered:
1. Capital accumulation
2. Technical progress and innovation
3. The State and Institutions
a. Optimal growth policies
b. Institutions
4. Demographic growth
5. The environment
6. The international dimension of growth
Objectives (and/or specific learning outcomes)
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Be familiar with the main theories describing the long-term evolution of economies
- Be familiar with the formalisation techniques on which they are based.
- Develop intuition for what the models imply about economic growth and policy.
- Use macroeconomic and econometric knowledge to interpret research findings.
- Explain models and empirical results effectively in discussion and writing.
Teaching methods and learning activities
Lectures (as interactive as possible)
References, bibliography, and recommended reading
Textbooks
Acemoglu D., Introduction to Modern Economic Growth, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2008.
Aghion, P., and P. Howitt, The Economics of Growth, MIT Press, Cambridge, 2009.
Ashraf, Q.H., and Weil D., Economic Growth, Addison-Wesley Boston, 2024.
Further readings
Aghion, P. and Durlauf, S. eds, Handbook of economic growth. Elsevier, vol.1, 2005, vol. 2, 2014.
Koyama, Mark, and Jared Rubin. How the world became rich: The historical origins of economic growth. John Wiley & Sons, 2022.
Contribution to the teaching profile
This course contributes to the development of the following skills :
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Solve complex problems arising in economic, financial and public policy contexts to transfer knowledge in realistic solutions to operationalize solutions.
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Provide economic and financial recommendations and analyses at each stage of the process to keep stakeholders fully informed.
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Use data mining and management techniques as well as financial modeling to develop decision, evaluation or management tools
Other information
Contacts
p-guillaume.meon@ulb.be
Campus
Solbosch
Evaluation
Method(s) of evaluation
- written examination
written examination
The exam will consist of an essay.
Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)
100% written exam
Language(s) of evaluation
- english
- (if applicable french )