Research Seminar "Population and Development"

Master 2020/2021

Type: Compulsory course (Population and Development)

Area of studies: Public Administration

Delivered by: Department of Demography

When: 1 year, 1-4 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Salavat Abylkalikov, Vasiliy A. Anikin, Olga G. Isupova, Konstantin Kazenin, Vladimir A. Kozlov, Ekaterina Mitrofanova, Olga Savinskaya, Ekaterina Slobodenyuk

Master’s programme: Population and Development

Language: English

ECTS credits: 9

Contact hours: 92

Full Syllabus

Abstract

The course introduces the students with the basic concepts of economic and human development, problems of inequality and basic demographic challenges. It combines some theoretical models with broad empirical evidence. Within the discipline students can realize the interconnections between social and economic development and demographic behavior The discipline is an obligatory three modules course for first-year students of the Master Program with specialization at ‘Population and Development’ at the Faculty of Social Sciences. The discipline is taught in English. The prerequisites are the basics knowledge of geography, economics, history, social sciences and statistics.

Learning Objectives

The aim of the course is to explain students the demographic and social economic aspects of the human development. Within this course the connections between demographic, social economic and political processes are observed as well as their influence on social and human development and possible causal mechanisms. In the first part, we will take a look at the contemporary differences in various development outcomes across nations. Once we realize that these differences were (and indeed had to be) in the making since at least a couple of centuries, and possibly way more, it becomes imperative to turn our attention to possible answers to the two fundamental questions: (1) Why are contemporary societies so much richer than their distant ancestors? (2) Why are some nations so much wealthier than others today? In the second part of the course, we will briefly discuss the history of global economic growth and the history of divergence between rich and poor nations, with particular emphasis on the Industrial Revolution and various hypotheses on its causes. Next, we will consider individual factors of economic development, like geography, human capital and institutions, and analyze how they contribute to economic development and to the observed between-country economic inequality, using both historical and contemporary material. Finally, we will examine topics especially salient for the developing countries, like coping with advantages and challenges of ethnolinguistic and religious diversity; the resource curse issues; the debate on long-run benefits of international development aid.

Expected Learning Outcomes

To know the basic role of population in development, the role of international organizations and the principles of sustainable development goals
The students can measure and compare the development
To understand the roots and the posibilities of solution for the global problems
To know the basic principes of economic development, the triggers and traps for development. Understand the examples and formulate the development policy

Course Contents

The concept of sustainable development
Global problems and the ways of solution in historical prospective and the curret situation with these problems. The main steps of the evolution of the concept. Sustainable development goals
Introduction. Population growth and development.
Population growth and demographic transitions. Sustainable development goals (the evolution of the concept). The role of international organizations
Ecological factors of development
Climatic changes and global warming fron the natural science point of view. The legal regulation of climatic changes.
Indicators of development
The system of development indicators. The role of Human development index, advantages and disadvantages. The problems of inequality

Assessment Elements

Sources description
Literature review (Presentations)
The presentation is marked
Abstract text
More details in the "Thesis guide"
Research proposal methodology (Written text: 2 parts )
Defense (Oral presentation 10-15 minutes and questions from the jury)
Не является экзаменом

Interim Assessment

Interim assessment (4 module)
0.2 * Abstract text + 0.3 * Defense (Oral presentation 10-15 minutes and questions from the jury) + 0.2 * Literature review (Presentations) + 0.2 * Research proposal methodology (Written text: 2 parts ) + 0.1 * Sources description

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Baker, B. (2011). World Development : An Essential Text. Oxford: New Internationalist. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=420203
Daron Acemoglu, & James A. Robinson. (2019). Rents and economic development: the perspective of Why Nations Fail. Public Choice, (1), 13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-019-00645-z
Economic development, Todaro, M. P., 2015

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Dinc Mustafa Introduction to Regional Economic Development [Book]. - Cheltenham : Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015.
The future of world religions [Elektronische Ressource] : population growth projections, 2010-2050 / Pew Research Center. (2015). Washington/D.C: Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.449000877
V. V. Perskaya. (2019). The World Economic Forum in Davos: Poverty and Inequality of Income Distribution as Evil Phenomena of Modern World Development. Экономика. Налоги. Право, (2), 49. https://doi.org/10.26794/1999-849X-2019-12-2-49-58

Course Syllabus