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Economics Latin America

Vak
2015-2016

Admission requirements

This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies.

Limited places are also open for exchange students. Please note: this course takes place in The Hague.

Description

This course gives students a foundation in economic development as it occurs in the Latin America region. The course is split into two blocks, with block one investigating the fundamentals to understanding and analysing economic development in the region, covering issues such as state-led and market-led macroeconomic policies, industrialization, infrastructure and the use of natural resuorces, trade policy and currency policy. The second block engages with the idea of emerging economies and gives examples of maco and microeconomic policies and intiatives that have resulted in development success. It tempers this with an investigation of ‘submerging economies’ – failed economic policies and initiatives, and what we can learn from them.

Course objectives

Students will build on their knowledge of macroeconomics acquired in the first year BAIS and see how these policies have been applied and to what effect in the Latin American region. They will also be introduced to debates surrounding third world development and see how these have played out in the Latin American context. In the tutorial, they will learn to identify the main arguments of authors writing about economic development strategies and to critically compare and analyse these debates. Overall they will gain an understanding of the theoretical approaches to third world development and the structural and material conditions these approaches attempt to transform.

Timetable

The timetable is available on the BA International Studies website.

Mode of instruction

Lecture and tutorials

Attending lectures and tutorials is compulsory. If you are not able to attend a lecture or tutorial, please inform the tutor of the course. Being absent without notification can result in a lower grade or exclusion from the final exam or essay.

Course Load

Total course load for this course is 5 EC x 28 hours is 140 hours, broken down by:
12 lectures: 24 hours
4 tutorials: 8 hours
Reading & self-study: 72 hours
Research & paper writing: 36 hours

Assessment method

Tutorials 30%;
Midterm exam 30%;
Final exam 40%

If the final grade is insufficient (lower than a 6), there is the possibility of retaking the full 70% of the exam material, replacing both the earlier mid- and endterm grades. No resit for the tutorials is possible.

To complete the final mark, please take notice of the following:
the final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average

Blackboard

Blackboard will be used. For tutorial groups: please enroll in blackboard after your enrolment in uSis
Students are requested to register on Blackboard for this course.

Reading list

Weekly readings will be made available on blackboard. The course will use power point presentations, which will also be put on blackboard.

Registration

Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.

General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch

Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs

Not applicable.

Contact

For tutorials: osz-economicsla@hum.leidenuniv.nl