Development economics

This article is about the academic field. For the broader context, see Economic development.
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Development economics is a branch of economics that deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural change but also on improving the potential for the mass of the population, for example, through health, education and workplace conditions, whether through public or private channels.[1]

Development economics involves the creation of theories and methods that aid in the determination of policies and practices and can be implemented at either the domestic or international level.[2] This may involve restructuring market incentives or using mathematical methods such as intertemporal optimization for project analysis, or it may involve a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods.[3] Common topics include growth theory, poverty and inequality, human capital, and institutions.[4]

Unlike in many other fields of economics, approaches in development economics may incorporate social and political factors to devise particular plans.[5] Also unlike many other fields of economics, there is no consensus on what students should know.[6] Different approaches may consider the factors that contribute to economic convergence or non-convergence across households, regions, and countries.[7]

  1. ^ Bell, Clive (1987). "development economics," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 1, pp. 818, 825.
  2. ^ Arndt, H. W. (1981). "Economic Development: A Semantic History," Economic Development and Cultural Change, 29(3), p pp. 457–66. Chicago: The Chicago University Press.
  3. ^ Bell, Clive (1987). "development economics," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 1, p. 825.
  4. ^ McKenzie, David; Paffhausen, Anna Luisa (2017). "What Is Considered Development Economics? Commonalities and Differences in University Courses around the Developing World". The World Bank Economic Review. 31 (3): 595–610. doi:10.1093/wber/lhx015. hdl:10986/31468. ISSN 0258-6770.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Todaro, Michael and Stephen Smith. Economic Development. 9th ed. Addison-Wesley series in economics, 2006.
  6. ^ Meier, Gerald M. and James E. Rauch. Leading Issues in Economic Development. 8th ed. Oxford University Press, 2005.
  7. ^ Ray, Debraj (2008). "development economics". The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.