CIDE-5204 Paths of Regional Development
Development is, since the first half of the 20th century, one of the most important projects of the societies that turned out to be known, after the aftermath of the Second World War, as the third world, accounting approximately for three quarters of world population. Development configured during the 50´s as a promise of modernization, civilization, progress, enhancement of material wellbeing, and eradication of poverty for the societies that have lived for centuries under European colonial regimes. At the beginning it was thought that the evolution and general modernization of the societies of the third world had a clear reference in the image of the industrialized countries of Europe and North America, and that they would be able to reach such levels through the modernization of their economy. initially it was a proposed an equivalence between development and social development, and the mechanism to reach it was economic growth. At the beginning the main focus was on economic development at a macro level, that is to say, at the level of countries, and towards the consolidation of national economies. The main concern was around economic taking off of national economies and their sustainability on time. As time went by, and these countries started to grow and show indexes of economic development, it became evident that this process was not uniform within national territories. For the purposes of this course we will dwell on three major concerns on this issue: 1) Why is there an unequal development among regions of the same country? 2) What is the explanation for the geographical location of economic activities and what relation in terms of space distribution does it have with the unequal development among regions? 3) In Colombia there have been several attempts to promote, render easier, and impulse productive activities, some of them directed to specific places, other related to products considered strategic, but in any case centered in specific locations; then, the question is what has happened with these productive efforts, and what type of development have they promoted in the places of their application? The objective of the course on Paths to Regional Development is that students obtain elements, criteria and skills enabling them to ask, analyze and interpret regional economic dynamics, and their impact in the development of the inhabitants of the studied locations, with the purpose of providing those students with the judging elements that allow them to share information about the future interventions in the matters of local and regional economic development. To this aim, this course will focus on three aspects or spheres in an articulated and integrated manner. It is through the combination of these spheres that is expected the development of criteria, elements and skills for the proper reading of the regional economic dynamics. The three spheres are: Theory: Theoretical and conceptual elements will be discussed and analyzed on development (understood in a broad manner, beyond an economic perspective), economic and regional development, economic geography, and regional and urban economics. This theoretical and conceptual review will work as a complement and integrating factor of some of the concepts and frameworks that students will cover in the other subjects of their respective specialty. This sphere aims to comprehend all the ideas and guidelines derived from the theoretical postulates. Management of Economic Development: Here management is taken as an umbrella notion that encompasses planning, administration, and funding for economic development at a national, regional, and local level. This sphere focus on the study, analysis, and discussion on the interventions for the promotion and impulse of economic development within the country. History: This sphere focuses on the study, analysis, and discussion of historical economic development patterns at a regional and local level within the country, with the purpose of finding out and understanding what has happened and through it responding to the three questions posed above.
Instructor
Caicedo Cuervo Carlos
Catalog page for this course