Description

This course deals with facts and theory regarding long-run development. We will cover economic growth from the Malthusian era, the Industrial Revolution, and into the modern era. Unified growth models are presented that can account for the transition between these stages.  Along the way, we'll cover models of optimal fertility and endogenous technological change.  The course then pivots to consider the Great Divergence between rich and poor countries. Contemporary development accounting techniques are used to identify the reasons for this divergence, and we will discuss what models are capable of providing insight into this phenomenon.