The Political Economy of Development (944M1ID)

30 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Spring teaching

The module examines the political economy of development. We focus on how international-level changes affect developing countries’ national strategies for interaction with, and integration into, the global economy.

You will explore:

• the performance of the world economy as a whole
• international systems for production, trade and finance
• the principles and rules upon which interaction on a world scale is based
• how countries and firms are integrated into the world system
• the barriers and opportunities they face in upgrading and moving up the global income ladder
• how labour has been affected by, and affects, the process of globalisation.

We address these issues from the perspective of the low- and middle-income countries. The aim is to understand how Less Developed Countries (LDCs) have, and are, being integrated into the world system. We’ll also consider how the nature of the world system influences the form of integration, and to discuss alternative forms of integration that lead to more favourable developmental outcomes for LDCs.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 267 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.