Detailed information |
Pre-requisites |
(*)KS Einführung in die Volkswirtschaftslehre UND KS Einführung in die Makroökonomie
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Original study plan |
Bachelor's programme Economics and Business 2025W |
Learning Outcomes |
Competences |
Students know the basic facts about economic growth and understand the components, results, and consequences of the main theoretical models in the field and their empirical relevance.
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Skills |
Knowledge |
- Derivation of steady-state values
- The logic of Balanced Growth Paths (infinity)
- Exponential Growth, Logarithms, Time Derivatives
- Performing development and growth accounting in Excel
- Analysis of cross-country economic development processes
- Working with the Penn World Table dataset
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- Empirical facts about cross-country income differences and growth rates; The Kaldor Facts.
The Solow growth model; Aggregate production function; Capital accumulation; Labor-augmenting technological progress; Poverty traps; Comparative statics and dynamics of the Solow growth model; Balanced growth path; The role of human capital; Conditional and unconditional convergence; Growth accounting; Development accounting.
- A simplified version of the Romer model of technological progress; Modelling ideas; Growth rate of ideas along the balanced growth path; Effect of changes in the discovery rate and the share of scientist on output per worker.
- Technology diffusion; The choice between innovation and imitation; Appropriate technology, trade, and globalization.
- Empirical facts about natural resources; The Solow growth model with non-renewable resources; Economic growth and the environment; Why degrowth is nonsense.
- Proximate versus fundamental causes of economic growth; Social infrastructure (institutions); misallocation and productivity differences across countries; Natural experiments that uncover the role of institutions for economic development.
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Criteria for evaluation |
Regular problem sets will be part of the evaluation as well as a final exam.
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Methods |
For each topic, we start out with an empirical observation using real-world data and discuss how we can build a model to explain such an observation. Lectures will be only a small part of this course to formalize the ideas we gained during in-class discussions.
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Language |
English |
Study material |
“Introduction to Economic Growth”, 3rd edition, by Charles I. Jones and Dietrich Vollrath, published by W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0393920789
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Changing subject? |
No |
Further information |
It is recommended that this course should be chosen after successfully completing of the KS Mathematics for Social and Economic Sciences (or similar).
Basic mathematical concepts in the KS Economic Growth include:
- Derivatives, exponents, logarithms
- Integration
- Compound interest and exponential growth
- Maximization of a function
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Earlier variants |
They also cover the requirements of the curriculum (from - to) 572KMAISWWK20: KS Economic Growth (2020W-2021S)
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