The content for option C, Major C2 is provided in the tables below. It is composed of blocks of courses for all the corresponding cohort and of blocks in which students can choose between different special focuses (SF).
Semester 1 at the Berlin School of Economics and Law
The main aim of this semester is to introduce the issues of macroeconomic development and finance that will be explored in depth within the development theory framework during subsequent semesters.
The students that choose “option C” (Major C2) spend the first semester in Berlin. They will take part of the courses delivered to “option B – Major B1” students in the first semester. Semester 1 is structured in four blocks.
The first block deals with “International macroeconomics and economic policies”. It comprises courses given by world leading academics specialised in economic policy in their particular fields. They will emphasise theoretical and political controversies in order to provide the students with a critical and open approach to economic policy in the age of globalisation. This block includes the following courses.
- “Macroeconomics” (by E. Hein) provides an overview of the main paradigms in macroeconomics at intermediate/advanced level focusing on modern versions of new Keynesian and post-Keynesian macroeconomics. In the first part, different schools of mainstream macroeconomics after Keynes are discussed: neoclassical synthesis, monetarism, new classical economics, new Keynesian economics and the New Consensus. The second part focusses on post-Keynesian macroeconomics, develops a full post-Keynesian alternative to New Consensus macroeconomics and finally discusses the recent financial and economic crises against the background of these approaches.
- “International economics” (by J. Pedussél Wu and M. Metzger) should provide students with critical understanding of the principal theoretical controversies, historical developments and current policy debates in the field of international economics. The first part of the course will address international trade; the second part will focus on international monetary and financial developments.
This block of courses will also have participation from external speakers (e.g. in 2009-2010, T. Palley (New America Foundation, Washington), on ‘America’s exhausted paradigm: Macroeconomic causes of the financial crisis and great recession’ and S. Sen (Institute of Studies in Industrial Development, New Delhi), on ‘China and India and the current global crisis’, and 2011-2012, M. Lavoie (University Paris 13) on ‘History and methods of post-Keynesian economics’).
The second block addresses “Development policies and global governance”. It will develop the role of institutions in the global economy through an interdisciplinary approach which will introduce historical patterns and sociological dimensions related to economic policy.
- “Global governance” (by C. Teipen) will provide a basic understanding of the fundamental redesign of political and economic arrangements, including the world’s formal and informal rules. The course develops an understanding of the different goals and instruments available to actors such as government representatives at national, regional and international level, civil society activists and private corporations. Case studies of some of the key processes involved in global governance will be addressed in detail.
- “Development economics” (by H. Herr). will emphasise questions related to poverty (gender and poverty, where the poor in the world live, how poverty has developed in recent decades). Different development strategies will be discussed, including those employed by the major international institutions, along with the extent to which they have been successful or not. Case studies from developing countries across the world will be used to provide a deeper understanding of the development models.
The third block relies on “tutorials and methodology” involving classes, group attendance and self-study (on a yearly basis). This will help students to formulate their research questions and provide ongoing support for the Master’s dissertation. It will include an assessment of options in light of provisional career plans (not graded), guidance on successful study methods, and guided reflection on study progress and professional perspectives.
The fourth block is related to the study of languages (on a yearly basis). Introduction to French will be mandatory for students with no knowledge of the French language. There will be opportunities to study German (at beginners or advanced levels) and advanced English (including academic writing).
The first two blocks will provide consistent and high-level training in macroeconomic, financial and development policies on an interdisciplinary basis and include participation from professionals and external speakers. Consistent with the aims of the EPOG Master’s Course, they will provide specific expertise and a general understanding of the interdependencies among economic policies in a globalised economy.
All the Master’s courses at the Berlin School of Economics and Law will be taught in English.
Course details (teaching hours, ECTS, teaching staff) for the Semester 1.
Semester 2 at Wits University
Students choosing “option C” (Major C1) spend the second semester at Wits University. The semester will be structured in six blocks aimed at providing strong theoretical base for the development of theory and a solid understanding of African issues, provided by the participation of renowned experts.
The first block deals with “Political economy of development” (Responsible: N. Pons-Vignon). This collective course will be delivered by a group of renowned experts, including Professor Ben Fine (SOAS, University of London), and will be coordinated by Nicolas Pons Vignon (Senior Researcher, Wits). It focuses on different approaches to economic growth and their implications for conceptions of development and underdevelopment, the nature of poverty and the role of the state in the development process. The syllabus is designed to provide an overview of the elements of theory and policy that are especially relevant to the study and practice of development. The first half of the course covers essential theoretical and historical elements in economic thinking about development through an examination of different theoretical approaches and their successive policy outcomes. The second half of the course focuses on specific issues currently debated in the political economy of development using examples from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Issues covered include the role of the state, industrialisation, agriculture, labour markets, geography and planning and development in Africa. By the end of the course students should be familiar with key economic concepts, perspectives and debates relating to the study of development.
The second block addresses “Economic policy in developing countries: microeconomic, industrial and trade policy” issues. This collective course covers key microeconomics issues, with a view to providing an integrated perspective on the microeconomics of the firm, the role of corporations in industrial development, industrial structure and development and international trade. The section on microeconomics considers issues of coordination, conflict and competition in capitalist economies. It focuses on microeconomic theories of the firm and also examines the literature on the role of corporations and modern managerial firms within industrial development and international trade, with a particular focus on global value/ commodity chains. The section on industrial policy identifies key theories of industrial development and approaches to industrial policy. The section on trade policy examines classical, neoclassical, and heterodox theories of international commodity and factor trade. This section introduces theories with particular relevance to policy in developing countries, such as theories of North-South exchange, trade in conditions of market imperfection and increasing returns to scale, and the link between trade and development.
The third block addresses “Advanced macroeconomics for policy” issues (by R. McKenzie). This course provides an overview of closed and open economy macroeconomic theory. It considers macroeconomic policy as approached by different schools of economic thought (Keynesian, Neoclassical, Monetarist, New-Keynesian, New-Classical). On completion of the course, students should have knowledge of heterodox approaches to macroeconomics, international macroeconomics and its evolution, the main features and implications of various macroeconomic models, the relationship between microeconomics and macroeconomics (in theory and in policy), the application of macroeconomic theory and policy in low and middle income countries. Students will also gain an understanding of the policy trade-offs implied by the different macroeconomic models (from the IS-LM neoclassical synthesis to the macro-policy trilemma) and of short-run macroeconomics stabilisation and its implications on and relationship to long-run economic performance.
The fourth block deals with “Research methods for economic policy” (by F. Khan). This course aims at equipping students with the research skills required for policy related work. It will provide students with rigorous training in designing, implementing and evaluating research. Students will be trained in every part of the research process (question formulation; literature review; use of secondary sources; methodology to collect and analyse primary data), including the writing of reports. Students will learn to evaluate research with a view to developing their ability to design policy by drawing critically on the research presented.
The fifth block deals with “Quantitative methods for social sciences”. It is composed of one course in “Econometrics”. The course presents some of the main methods of econometric analysis so that students will be able to carry out empirical work and critically evaluate research results. The course covers the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model, derivation of OLS estimators, assumptions about explanatory variables and disturbances, statistical properties of OLS estimators, hypothesis testing and other diagnostic tests for the violation of OLS assumptions. The course emphasises real life applications of linear regression models and students will apply econometric methods to real data in the examination of economic relationships.
The sixth block is related to the study of languages. Introductory French will be mandatory for students with no knowledge of the French language. There will be opportunities to study advanced English (including academic writing).
These first four blocks will provide the basics of development economics that will be explored in depth during Semester 3 and during the writing of the Master’s dissertation. The participation of world-class experts will provide students an excellent understanding of real-life development issues, especially in the African context.
All the Master’s courses at Wits University will be taught in English.
Course details (teaching hours, ECTS, teaching staff) for Semester 2.
Semester 3 at University of Paris 13
“Option C” students will benefit from a common framework at University of Paris 13, whatever the chosen Major (C1 and C2). The choice among the special focuses (SF) within this framework will offer the possibility to deepen the expertise related directly to the Student’s Major or to explore new dimensions of development policy, especially economic policies interdependencies.
Following the format of the 3rd semester for “option A” students, this 3rd semester for “option C” is structured in five blocks (+ the “induction month”), characterised by (i) an important focus on emerging countries (and the related changes in terms of national and international economic policies) and (ii) by the emphasis on the intersections between development concerns, knowledge and innovation policies, and macroeconomic and financial regulations. The participation of professionals, (from private institutions and researchers with experience in the field) is an important feature of the framework.
The first block deals with “Macroeconomic and development policies”. It comprises is composed of three courses:
- “International macroeconomics” (by D. Lang) which is a common course for students taking options B and C (see the above description). All “option B” students will automatically be integrated with the second year level (which complements the courses taught in Berlin during the first year)..
- “Development, institutions and poverty” will be taught by a professor (by J.-P. Cling) who was a former Head of Administrations, Economic Adviser and Senior Researcher in institutions in Asia and Africa. This course analyses the interactions between the extension of globalisation, lack of convergence between developed and developing countries and the overall rise in poverty. The main aim is to provide the students with theoretical and empirical knowledge on the subjects studied and to provide critical skills on the research approach to development economics. It should provide training in the use and understanding of a range of empirical sources of information, and critical evaluation of different approaches to economic development. Half of the course course is dedicated to oral presentation and discussion to develop students’ analytical and critical skills. The topics studied includes: poverty and inequality, trade, development and poverty, education, employment and the informal sector, development aid and impacts evaluation, Bretton Wood Institutions and global governance.
- “Emerging Countries in the Global Economy” (coordinated by C. Durand). This course analyses the process of international integration of and catch up from a theoretical and historical perspective. First, the issue of capitalist development and its geographical unevenness is discussed through the lenses of classical economists, and revisited in the context of post-WWII marked, on the one hand, by decolonization and anti-imperialist movements theorizing and, on the other hand, the spread of modernization theories. A second part is dedicated to the neoliberal doctrine of the Washington Consensus, the conditions of its dissemination in the eighties and the nineties. Latin American countries trajectories and East-Asian success stories will be constrasted and the heterogenous fates of post-socialist transitions from Eastern Europe to Russia and China will also be discussed. Finally, new development strategies relying on experiment and institutions building will be discussed.
The main objective of the course is to provide students with up to date theoretical knowledge about the development process, empirical insight about trajectories of emerging economies and an excellent understandong of the current structure of the world economy. Three of the courses in this module will be taught by researchers at the French agency for development (AFD): The first two lectures will be devoted to the presentation of two add-ons of the GEMMES (GEneralized Monetary Multisectoral Macrodynamics for the Energy Shift) project. The GEMMES project is based on the macroeconomic model of Keen (1995), it departs from conventional equilibrium-type modelling paradigm by proposing a stock-flow consistent model drove by phenomenological functions in a dynamical system. This model of financial instability has various extensions that provide numerous different implications in terms of public policies, among them: (i) a climate feedback add-on, where today’s CO2 emission increases temperature and lowers future’s worldwide output; (ii) a multisectoral version that gives the modelling background for the energy shift scenarios with an application for Brazil. The third lecture will overview the main theories of economic development and the issue of aid effectiveness. The first part will be dedicated to highlighting the classical and contemporary models of development and their critiques. The second part will focus on the definitions of aid, the debate on selectivity, as well as the implications of a potential scaling up.
The second block deals with “Econometrics and quantitative methods for research” (by. H. Harari-Kermadec). It includes panel data, time series, sequence analysis…
The third block has three focuses, built in order to allow the student to choose between deepening expertise in the chosen Major and exploring new dimensions of development policies (interdisciplinary course), which will provide more general understanding of economic policies interdependencies. Students will choose among special focuses:
- SF1-C: “Intellectual property and development” is at the intersection between option A (Knowledge and innovation policies) and option C (Development policies).It includes the 3 courses proposed in the SF3-A – “Intellectual property in medicines and biotechnologies”.
- SF2-C: “Education, labour and globalisation” is at the intersection of option B (International macroeconomics and financial policies) and option C (Development policies). It deals with the key political issues of labor, migration and discriminations. The course on “Labour and discriminations” (by A. Ghirardello) addresses the question of the impacts of inequalities and discriminations in a globalised context: labour market inequalities (unemployment, wages, working conditions), discrimination (from a theoretical perspective and with an emphasis on the developed countries), health and labour, segregation. The related philosophical (Rawls, Sen, Honneth, and others) and sociological (Bourdieu, Boltanski and Dubet) issues will be discussed in order to provide an interdisciplinary approach. The course on “Education economics and policy” (by D. Flacher) presents education policies in relation to the various national systems and the emergence of a worldwide higher education market, which is leading to deep transformations in both demand and supply side. A major emphasis is put on the effects of higher education on the labour market, on inequalities, on the polarisation of higher education. In addition to the theory, this topic will include applied articles and data analysis.
- SF3-C: “Finance and development” is at the intersection of options B and C. It addresses the question of the rising role of finance (“financialisation”) at the global level and its impact on development in Northern and Southern countries. It considers the regulation policies that could be implemented at the national and international levels and the institutions responsible for such policies. This special focus is composed of two courses from “option B”: “Financial instability and international regulation” (by G. Dymski and H. Tordjman) and “Institutions and international finance” (by R. Guttman). These courses are described below under “option B” page.
Remark: Special focus “SF1-C” is more relevant to students taking Major C1 (Knowledge, industrial and local development) and can be considered an interdisciplinary course for students taking Major C2 (Macroeconomic development and finance). This is the reverse situation for special focuses “SF2-C” and “SF3-C”.
In terms of the other options, students will take the “joint seminars” (4th block) and undertake optional training in languages (5th block). The philosophy is the same than for option A (provide interdisciplinary approach and skills through the participation of professionals, same language policy)
All the mandatory courses will be taught in English (i.e. blocks 1, 2 and 4). At least one of the special focuses (3rd block) will be taught entirely in English. Consequently, a student willing to study only in English will be able to do so.
Course details (teaching hours, ECTS, teaching staff) for Semester 3.
Semester 4: Master’s dissertation.