MSc Political Economy of Late Development

About the MSc programme

This programme is based in the Department of Economic History| and the Department of International Development|.

The MSc Political Economy of Late Development offers students an opportunity to integrate two related fields of study that draw on the breadth of research expertise and practical experience in the Department of Economic History and the Department of International Development. It provides a unique set of courses that combine conceptual approaches to development, empirical analyses of patterns of growth in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and key themes in development.

The intellectual objectives of the degree derive from increasing interest in the recent economic history of late developing economies and their differing growth trajectories. The programme is primarily intended for students planning a career in development work, and provides a good foundation for social science research in development.

The programme uses techniques of long-run growth analysis to inform modern approaches to development policy and practice. It provides a comparative assessment of current development debates, and locates them in appropriate historical and theoretical contexts. Courses consider the origin and outcomes of patterns of growth in various parts of the world, policy responses to differing growth outcomes, and assumptions underpinning policy interventions. The programme also seeks to explain how and when some developing economies 'converged' with industrialised countries, while the growth performance of others was more erratic, and why problems of poverty, inequality, instability and violence still characterise large parts of the world.

The degree is a twelve-month programme, consisting of two core units, a dissertation, and optional courses to the value of two full units selected from the prescribed list. The core elements are Development: Theory, History and Policy and Theories, Paths and Patterns of Late Development, to which the dissertation is linked. In choosing options, students must select an equivalent of one full Department of International Development unit and one full economic history unit.

Please note that some options have prerequisites and some have a restricted intake. The range of options available in any one year may vary.

Compulsory courses

(* half unit)

• Theories, Paths and Patterns of Late Development*
• Development: History, Theory and Policy
• Dissertation on the Political Economy of Late Development* (10,000 words)

Options

Choose courses to the value of  two full units, to consist of one unit from Department of Economic History  and one unit from Department of  International Development:  

Department of Economic history courses

• India and the World Economy* 
• African Economic Development in Historical Perspective*
• Political Economy of Late Industrialisation*
• Research Issues in African Economic Development*
• Economic Development in East and Southeast Asia
• Latin American Development: Political Economy of Growth*
• Latin American Development: Case Studies in Growth, Poverty and Social Change* 
• Shipping and Sea Power in Asian Waters c1600-1860*
• Labour and Work in Preindustrial Europe*
• Japan and Korea as Developing Economies* 
• Epidemics: Epidemic Disease in History, 1348-2000*
• International Migration, 1500-2000: from slavery to asylum*
• Research Topics in Economic History A*
• Research Topics in Economic History B*
• The British Economy in Global Perspective, 1000-2000*
• Economic Globalisation: Long-term trends and consequences*
• International Economic Institutions since World War I*

Department of International Development courses

• Poverty*
• Economic Development Policy
• Population and Development: An Analytical Approach*
• African Development*
• Global Political Economy of Development I*
• Global Political Economy of Development II*
• Managing Humanitarianism*
• Nationalism, Democracy and Development in Contemporary India*
• Key Issues in Development Studies*