ECON 4502 Desarrollo Económico de América Latina en el Largo Plazo

There are very large differences in the levels and growth rates of income per capita in the world. While some countries prosper, others stagnate or collapse with huge imp lications for human welfare. Similarly, while some countries have developed a set of "democratic" institutions guaranteeing civil and political rights for broad ross-sections of the population, other societies throughout history and today live under different forms of dictatorship and authoritarianism.

This course discusses factors that have shaped the different paths of economics and political development in the world, with special emphasis on Latin America and Colombia. After discussing different types of hypotheses, we focus on the political economy of institutions. The course presents the main historical facts about comparative political and economic developmet, introduces basic tools of political economy, and discusses a number of more specific topics that are especially relevant in the Latin American context, including, among others, the political legacy of colonial rule, corruption, the emergence and persistence of inefficient economic institutions, the determinants of violent conflict, and the consequences of natural resource abundance.

Créditos

4

Instructor

James Robinson, Leopoldo Fergusson y Pablo Querubin

Prerequisite

Microeconomía III y Macroeconomía III y Econometría I y sexto semestre