CVEN 5109: Introduction to Environmental & Development Economics for Engineers

In-person, Spring, Third 5 weeks, 1 Credit, Tu/Th 11:30am - 12:45pm

Instructor: Gunārs Platais

Course Information

Successful economic development has been an elusive target in many countries of the Global South. Considerable intellectual effort has been spent on this issue over many decades with mixed results. A recent and alarming trend shows that inequality has deteriorated across all countries, rich and poor alike. For example, the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Human Development Report 2014 states that “although poverty is declining overall, almost 800 million people are at risk of falling back into poverty if setbacks occur.” Fittingly, the UNDP’s 2019 Human Development Report will focus precisely on this topic: inequality. According to the UNDP, almost 1.5 billion people are living in poverty in 91 developing countries with poor to almost non-existent health and education systems resulting in unacceptable living standards.

We know that countries can improve the standard of living and the quality of people’s lives even under adverse circumstances, and that countries have made great gains to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) despite only modest growth in income. At the same time, some countries with strong economic performance over the decades have failed to make similarly impressive progress in life expectancy, poverty alleviation, schooling, and overall living standards.
 

Course Description  

The course will address main development topics based on a theoretical framework applied to practical real-life examples with a focus on the contribution of engineering to these solutions. The format of the class will be guided by analysis and in class discussions in order to provide a multi-sectoral approach. Students will be introduced to basic economic theory and how it applies to economic development in order to better understand the conditions of poverty. Furthermore, students will also examine how the role of engineering intersects the solutions space. Some of the questions to be addressed include: Why do developing countries have poor health, high child mortality, face extreme poverty, low levels of education, and high levels of child labor?  Which, if any, policies are effective in alleviating these problems? Emphasis will be placed on analyzing current economic issues and policies in their historical context. The course is organized around a series of key themes, which will be explored with reference to particular societies and their histories. The process of economic reform, agricultural and industrial development, income distribution, health and education and international economic relations will all be scrutinized on a macro level in order to identify the negative and positive advances that have been accomplished internationally thus far.

The key cross-cutting themes are:

• Theories of economic development: What are the causes of economic growth as well as the barriers to development? How do we best explain sustained economic development, and what are the limitations of these theories? How does engineering intersect in this space?
• International development assistance (aid): Its critical role and how this has contributed (or not) to assisting countries improve their circumstances and of their people. The differences between different donor government agencies will be explored.
• Modalities of development assistance: Supporting economic development through programs, budget assistance and projects. Logical Framework Approach and capacity building tools.

Summary Content

In the spirit of an integrated analysis the course covers, amongst other things, and in varying degrees of depth, the following topics: an understanding of the difference between growth and economic development; the meaning and measurement of economic development; major growth theories; sustainability; poverty and income distribution; inequality; significance of agriculture in developing countries; poverty and population issues; international trade; and the importance of foreign aid; the role of geography and institutions; fertility and population growth; social and environmental impacts; the role of credit markets and microfinance; health and nutrition; education; female empowerment.

Learning Goals

• Students will have a broad understanding of the central themes and issues of economic development and growth.
• Students will recognize poverty, its underlying causes and formulate solutions.
• Students will be able to extend this knowledge into their fields of expertise in engineering and demonstrate how engineering can contribute to finding solutions.

Textbooks and Materials

All required readings will be provided through Canvass.

Assignments

Critical Responses

(Graded as pass / fail / partial credit, each are 6% of final grade, 30% total)

The weekly critical responses are one-page essays related to the reading for that week. These pieces are not meant as a summary of the readings, but rather as an opportunity to engage with and explore key questions or concepts in the readings. Students are expected to read the response pieces sent in by other class members, and the responses will serve as a starting point for class discussions. All acceptable critical responses (i.e., responses that are approximately 500 words in length and that engage substantively with the readings) will receive full credit. Critical responses should be posted to the appropriate thread in Canvas and are due Monday at 11:59:59pm of the week the readings are due. Responses that are very short, that merely summarize the readings without engaging with them substantively, or that are delivered after the deadline will not receive more than half-credit. Students do not have to submit a critical response the week that they are facilitating the class discussion.

Discussion Facilitation

Each student will be responsible for facilitating a discussion of the week’s readings and lectures. Plan on facilitating discussion for approximately 30-45 minutes. You are encouraged to be creative in your facilitation (i.e., you are welcome to incorporate additional materials, case studies, or formats to facilitate conversation), but at a bare minimum plan on having five to ten substantive questions. The instructors are happy to talk with you beforehand if you would like to discuss ideas for facilitating the conversation.

Facilitation Review Sheet

(20% of final grade)

As part of facilitating discussion, you will need to provide your classmates with a one-page synthesis of the key ideas, concepts, and issues raised by the week’s readings and lecture. Please email your synthesis and questions for discussion to the instructor by Monday at 11:59:59pm.

Detailed Paper Outline

(10% of final grade)

Final Paper with presentation

(40% of final grade)

Group Work

Some of the assignments will be completed on an individual basis, but some will involve group work. For group efforts, all group members will receive the same grade. Each student will also receive a participation grade for the course that will be based in part on that student’s contributions to the group efforts. Peer evaluations, instructor observations, and other related methods may be used when determining the participation grade.

Late Policy

The grade for late assignments will be reduced by 10 percentage points (on a 100 point scale) per day that the assignment is late. We may agree to make exceptions to this policy on a very limited basis, provided that the reason is very compelling and provided that you ask us in advance.

Extra Credit  

(TBD points)

Extra credit assignments are not anticipated but may arise as the course progresses.

Exams

There will be no exams in this course.

Course Calendar

Grading

Grades will be recorded in Canvas throughout the semester. At the end of the term, the scores on all assignments are weighted by the percentages given above to determine a semester score. Student grades will be determined as follows based on their semester score rounded to the nearest single decimal place:

Canvas

The most up to date course calendar, readings and assignments will be posted in Canvas. Critical responses and assignment submissions will be through Canvas.