Course Syllabus

Course Information
POEC 6354 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT
Fall 2010, Class: MSET 3.102 Monday 7- 9:45
class # 2822
updated 23 Aug 2010
Professor Contact Information
Murray J. Leaf , Office GR 3.128, Tel: 883-2732
Offices Hours: one hour before class and by appointment.
Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions: None, but you should have largely
completed the POEC core.

Course Description
This course is intended to convey a broad sense of the issues and theories that have been considered
important in thinking about development for about the last century and that are likely to continue to be
so. The emphasis is on the "third world," but all the important issues and concepts are really universal.
The course is also intended to help you choose what further courses to take and what kind of problem you
might choose for a dissertation. Accordingly, the syllabus will be flexible. We can adjust it in response
to your interests as they develop in the discussions, and also in response to faculty interest in coming to
speak to us about these or other issues and theories that you might want to consider.

There is no one theory of development. There are several theories of economic development in
economics, but development is more than just an economic matter and the economic theories on the
whole are not the most influential or important. Development requires theories that recognize more than
economic variables. Ideas and methods from anthropology, sociology, and political science are at least as
important on the social science side. But as a matter of cold fact the most important development projects
have been, and still are, framed mainly with ideas from engineering and the physical sciences. In many
important areas of activity, it has been a struggle to get any sort of social science expertise involved. To
the extent that this struggle has been successful, the key idea now is that projects should be
“interdisciplinarity.”

The readings are of four main types. Some represent broad social/development approaches that have been
important in recent history: fascism, communism, and market economies. Some represent economics,
mainly development economics. Most represent practical development projects. And some represent
broad issues in development theory, like the importance of welfare or how to measure it. The latter
usually take economic theory into account, but are not framed or limited by its assumptions and methods.

Last year I asked off campus books to make up a packet of the readings, and they did so. But few
students bought them. The readings listed as "packet" in the syllabus were in the packet. We will decide
whether to do this again this year. The readings in the Off Campus Books packet are mainly focused on
economic theories and reflect two major themes or tensions: central planning or dirigiste theory versus a
more "market oriented" theory, and the relative importance of industry versus agriculture. Dirigiste means
“directive.” This type of theory was important until about the 1980s, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The most influential market oriented theories in the recent past have been styled "neo-liberal." Dirigiste
approaches under-rated individualistic considerations of efficiency, neo-liberalism assumes that
individual decisions are necessarily efficient and ignores the problem of regulation. Neither of these
theories holds up well as empirical science. The current world-wide economic crisis has been particularly
damaging to neo-liberalism. Last year the class asked for the readings to be put on a CD. Rachel Leeper,
at Off Campus Books checked and concluded that putting them on a CD was too much of a gray area in
terms of copyright law. So OCB will only make them available as hard copy if we ask them to. To get a
CD, you have to download the PDF files from JSTOR and burn it yourself. The reason that there is no
problem with this for you is that the University has a license, and your use is included in it.

The Marshall Plan and the Cernea readings reflect actual development projects and a more experiential or
experimental conception of science. The Marshall plan was almost certainly the largest and most
successful development program in history, and has represented the major practical alternative to
Soviet-styled central planning over the last fifty years. In addition, however, it represents a very different
idea of what theory is than either of the development economics perspectives. Essentially, it is pragmatic
rather than ideological and grows out of law, history, and politics as observed process more than
economics as a theoretical structure.

The readings from Cernea’s volume are all by social scientists who have worked in actual development
projects, and reflect those projects. They also reflect the same kind of experience-based view of theory as
the Marshall plan.

The grouping of papers into topics is mainly issue-oriented but somewhat chronological. For an
overview, we begin with the contrast between an early argument for central planning and recent
arguments for neo-liberalism. Then we turn to the Marshall Plan and go through it very carefully to see
what was done and, especially, what kind of theory was involved. Then we come to development
economics in the post-Marshall Plan period and discuss several overlapping topics including
industrialization, unemployment, savings and investment, and the balance between rural and urban
priorities. Then we take up the very large problem of food production, which neither the dirigiste theories
nor neo-liberals had much to say about, and the green revolution. And finally, we discuss the orientation
styled as "putting people first" in the Cernea readings. This is the state of the art at present in actual
development work.

The main hold-out for a kind of dirigiste planning is China, represented by the article by Cao.

Recordings. I will try to make recordings of the class discussions and post them in the syllabus for that
date so they can be downloaded. I post them with no extension. If they had an extension, your computer
would probably try to play them, rather than download them. The format is mp3 or wma (Windows
Media Audio) which should be useable on Apples and Macs, among other devices. They will probably
play as they are with Windows Media Player or Winamp, but if you have trouble you can replace the file
extension: mp3 or wma (doesn't seem to matter which.) Although I will compress them to about a third of
their normal mp3 size, they are still pretty large files, about 10 megabytes, but you should be able to find
software to allow you to compress them further to whatever you find useful. My recorder makes mp3
files. I use Switcher (downloaded free version) to convert them and shrink them. The recordings from
last term and before, labeled .dvf, are Sony voice files. These about one tenth the size. Windows Media
Player should play them. If not, it should say it needs a plug in, and go get it when you say it can. If this
does not happen, this appears to be a site that lets you download the Sony plugin for the WMP and install
the plugin yourself. Last year's recordings are on the syllabus now. I will replace them with current
recordings as we move through the semester.

Format. The course will use a seminar format, with two to four presentations a day. The numbered items
in the schedule are the topics. Each presentation will either be directly on the assigned reading or on a
topic that the reading discusses but does not explain as well as it should. The student will present his/or
her criticism formally and then lead the class discussion.
The presentation ought to be accompanied by a short one or two page handout. It should not be a simple
outline or resume of the chapter or article, but a guide to your own argument. Make copies for everyone.
The presentation should include: 1. The main theoretical idea or ideas that underlie the reading. (This can
be something very simple—and usually more than a little doubtful). 2. The main arguments for it. 3. A
critical assessment of those arguments.
The paper should be at least 15 double spaced pages in length, and critically review a major theoretical idea relevant
to development or major issue in development that you might consider as a dissertation topic. The discussion in the
paper must reflect class discussions, and the bibliography must be presented fully in a standard form. All
paraphrased ideas must be properly attributed to their authors. All quoted materials must be indicated in quotes and
full and complete page references must be provided. Failure to give proper credit will result in a failing grade on the
paper and, if done with apparent intent to defraud, will be treated as plagiarism. If you are not sure of the proper
procedures in citation, check with me or a standard source such as K. Tarrabian's Manual of Style for Theses,
Dissertations and Research Papers. If you don't own a copy, get one.

There is no limit on paper topics except for the scope of what we have read and discussed in class; the purpose of
the assignment is to let you pick a topic or concern that came up in class and let you explore it in some depth--see
where it leads. (So of course the paper should reflect the class discussions.) Here is a list of good papers that
students have submitted in the past: Failure of State in Eastern Europe; Protectionism and Interest Groups in the
Mexican Steel Industry: a Barrier for Development; Poverty, Aid, Welfare; The Effectiveness of EU Structural
Funds; An Incremental Strategy for Legal Development (this was written by a student who had a law degree);
Implementation of Local Economic Development Programs in Developing Countries: The Case of Bulgaria; The
Decline in the Sense of Duty in the Cameroonian Government Regarding Public Responsibility: the Case of Public
Infrastructural Maintenance; The Increasing Importance of Human Capital as a Policy Variable; Bridging
Disarmament and Development: Strategies Relating to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty; and The State and
Development in Africa.. It is also usually a good idea to check out what your faculty has written; they usually think
it is legitimate.

For accreditation, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools requires all courses at UTD to
state specific “Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes.” For this course, the objectives are:
Objective 1. To provide an overview of key issues in current development theory.
Objective 2. To provide an overview of key problems in current development practice.
Objective 3. To examine the relationships between the theoretical issues and the practical issues with a
view toward identifying areas for possible research.
This should not be understood as precluding the more general objectives of all graduate courses,
namely to read and master the material, learn the kind of critical thinking that it requires, and to
understand how one can conduct research on these topics.

Required Textbooks and Materials

Dulles, Allen (1994) The Marshall Plan. Berg Publishers. 28.00 new. From 4.95 used.

Cernea, M. M. 1984. Putting People First. Oxford Reprint Paperback. $30 new. From $7.00 used. From
Amazon.

At Off Campus Books:: Packet of articles, which they can make up on request. It contains the readings
listed below as being in the packet. All readings in the packet are also in JSTOR, and you should be able
to find them by using the author title information I provide in the search feature. The packet is about 450
pages, and will cost around $30-$40.00. Since this is higher than what I guessed in our first class meeting,
please let Off Campus Books know if you will be interested in buying it. You can email
rleepertx@aol.com.

For your paper, here is a bibliography of important works of many kinds relevant to what we are
covering. It includes most of what seem to me to be the best works on the New Deal, the Marshall Plan,
and the relation between. The sleeper in the group that you may not notice is the biography of General
Lucius Clay. Clay was an important administrator in the New Deal and wartime mobilization, as well as
military governor of Germany, appointed by Marshall.

Assignments & Academic Calendar

Schedule of Assignments

Date Topic Readings

20 Aug Introduction.
Nigerian un-development—an example (slides and discussion).
27Aug Central 1. Bye, R. T. 1929. Central Planning and Coordination of Production in Soviet Russia . Packet. 20. p
Planning packet
USSR 2. Davis Soviet Russia in the light of history. 1928. 8 p. Packet.
3. Bogdanov. Soviet Planning. 1932. 10 p. Packet.
4. Hozelitz. Socialist Planning. 1943. 14 p. Packet.
Recording
3 Sep Central Planning 1. Einzig. Hitler's New Order in Theory and Practice packet, (new)
vs New Deal 2. Ropke. Fascist Economics. 1935. 17 p. Packet.
3. Knight. Two economists on socialism. 1938. 11 p. Packet.
4. Gulick. Politics Admin and the New Deal. 1933.13 p. Packet
5. Nourse. Agric Adjustment Concept. 1936. 13 p. Packet
Background list of New Deal legislation: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/New_Deal/Timelines
10 Sep Marshall Plan 1. Marshall Plan: Was it an economic “plan?”
2. Marshall Plan: What was the problem with Russia and vice versa?
Marshall Plan 1 Recording
17 Sep 1. Marshall Plan: What were the Industrial Policies?
2. Marshall Plan: What were the Agricultural Policies?
recording 18 Sep 2009
24 Sep 1. Marshall Plan: What were the Political Policies?
2. Marshall Plan: Why was it successful?
recording
recording
1 Oct Foreign Aid 1. The Money Lenders (Video critical of World Bank)
2. World Bank Website. Look at the whole site, but especially go to About Us>History>Archive>Presidents.
Look at the biographies of the presidents. How much would you expect such people to k now about
development needs in non-western countries?
3. Easterly, W. 1997. The Ghost of Financing Gap: How the Harrod Domar Growth Model Still Haunts
Development Economics. Draft for comments. 30 p. Easterly paper

8 Oct Specialization and 1. Durbin on Hayek on Economic Planning. 15 p. packet

Forced Savings. 2, Rostow, W. W. 1956. The Take-Off to Self-Sustained Growth. 23. p
packet
2. Chenery, H. B.1961. Comparative Advantage and Economic Policy. 33 p.
packet
3. Friedman. Monetarism. 1983. 13 p. Packet.
4. Clarke. Soviet Plannning (last view). 1983. 9 p. Packet.
 Recording
15 Oct Other assistance 1. Neale. Indian Community Development, Local Government, Local Planning and Rural Policy since 1950. Pub
issues in 1985. 23 p. Packet.
2. Hardin. Tragedy of the Commons. 1968. 7 p. Packet.
3. Sen. Agency, Well Being, and Freedom. 1984. 54 p. packet.
4. Look at the UNDP Human Development Index website
5. Kelley. Human Development Index. 1991. 11 p. Packet.

Recording of 16 Oct 2008

22 Oct Surplus labor 1. Leaf review of Researching Culture of Agriculture
a n d / o r
2. Ehrlich. Impact of Population Growth. 1971. 7 p. Packet.
unemployment
3. Copestake, James. Theories of Economic Development 1999. Copestakeunesco.html

Recording of 23 Oct 2008 first part

Recording of 30 Oct 2009 (with discussion of midterm)

FOR FALL 09 MIDTERM EXAMINATION, CLICK HERE

29 Oct
Food, Agriculture, 1. Myrdal. UN, Agriculture, and the World Economic Revolution. 1964. 12 p. Packet
and Population 2. Leaf. Green Revolution in a Punjab Village. 1983. 45 p. Packet.
A related paper describing indigenous methods of farm decision making, with spread-sheet examples is at
http://www.mathematicalanthropology.org/?PG=TOC
3. Rome Declaration on World Food Security.1996. 2 p.
packet
4
. Johnson, D. G. Agriculture and the Wealth of Nations. 1997. 12 p.

5 Nov Energy and 1. Zweig Jianhai China's Global Hunt for Energy. Packet. (new)
Sustainability 2. Wood. India's Narmada River Dams. 1993. 18 p. Packet.
3.
Judge. Response to Dams in Indian States. 1993. 13 p. Packet
4. CGIAR statement on food and sustainability http://www.cgiar.org/exco/exco16/exco16_srf.pdf
Recording of Nov 5 2009 We have gotten behind., so this is for the previous
week's material.
12 Nov Putting People 1. Putting People First: 1. Knowledge from Social Science For Development Policies and Projects.
First. For Leaf's comments on the discussions of articles from Jinhai to here,
click here.
2. Putting People First: 12: Kottack: When People Don’t Come First.
3. Putting People First: 2. Coward: Irrigated areas
4. Putting People First: 4. Freedman: Middle Level Farmers Organizations
?
5. Putting People First 13: Uphoff: Fitting Projects to People.
19 Nov 1. Putting People First: 14 Chambers: Shortcut and Participatory Methods for Gaining Social Information
for Projects.
2. Cao. Chinese Privatization Between Plan and Market. Packet (new)
3. Streeten. Human Development. 1994. 7 p. Packet. Adr
4. Neale, W C. 1990. ABSOLUTE CULTURAL RELATIVISM: FIRM FOUNDATION FOR VALUING AND
POLICY Journal of Economic Issues, 0021-3624, June 1, 1990, Vol. 24, Issue 2
Recording of last class Fall 09
26 Nov Thanksgiving Holiday Thursday and Friday, no class.
 3 Dec Final exercise Work together to produce a list of the issues that you see this course as raising, the
theories it has provided, and the relations between the two: which issues have
theories that help dealing with them, and which theories actually have
development value. Post in in the eLearning discussion, and I will post
comments.
10 Research papers Exam day. Papers due in my office at class time. (Class does not meet)

Country Development Sketches by M. Leaf:

1. Korea
2. Thailand
3. Japan

Film: The Money Lenders. The World Bank & International Monetary Fund: A Global Report. 85
minutes.
VT2545

Grading Policy
The grade will be based 30% on the class presentations, 30% on the midterm, and 40% on a final paper.
The midterm will probably be take-home, essay format, and call for critical evaluation of important
theoretical ideas from the readings and discussion.

Course & Instructor Policies

I do not allow “extra credit” or make up work. You are expected to complete all assignments on time.
Anything not handed in on time is failed, unless you have made an arrangement with me in advance.

No Field Trips

The following statements are standard for all syllabi and come from general UTD rules. They are required
in response to accreditation critiria of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

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Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other source is
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