ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN EAST ASIA

This course is part of the "Language and Management to China" program. In this course, students will be provided with the basic tools for understanding the meaning of "Economic Growth"and "Economic Development" starting from the main theoretical frameworks under which these two concepts have been developed. They will also learn how such theoretical frameworks can be applied to/have been influenced by the growth and development processes of East Asian Countries. Emphasis will be placed on the processes of catching up, structural change, industrialization, organisation of production, and industrial policy. Students will be provided with an overview of the most significant features of the development process of Japan, the East Asian Tigers - with a particular focus on South Korea - and China.

Students will be able to identify the distinctive features of the growth and development process of major East Asian economies. They will be able to identify the most important moments of the evolution of the academic and policy debate on the subject. They will be able to apply tools of analysis to topics such as: the organization of contemporary industrial production, the globalization of markets, the relationship between industrialized and emerging economies, structural change.

Students could benefit from having taken a previous exam in foundations of economics.

Economic Growth versus Development: main theories
Industrialization, catching up and structural change
Industrial Policy
Variety of firms and organization of production
Zooming on Japan and South Korea - the role of business groups and industrial policies
Zooming on China - the role of state owned enterprises and industrial policies

Materials will be provided on the Moodle Platform, including lectures ppt. and additional articles. This said students can refer to the following textbook

Di Tommaso M.R., Rubini L., Barbieri E., Pollio C. (2024), Industry Organization and Industrial Policy. Production and Innovation, Development and the Public Interest. Bologna: Il MUlino. In particular Chapters 3, 4, 12, 16.

Also useful readings
D. Hunt (1989), Economic Theories of Development: An Analysis of Competing Paradigms, Barnes & Noble Imports; chpt. 2 and 3
Raj Debraj (1998), Development Economics, New Jersey: Princeton University Press – chapter 17
The CORE TEAMS, The Economy, Oxford University Press (for a general recap of foundations of economics);
Chang H. J. (2011), 23 Things they do not tell you about capitalism, Bloomsbury Press – Thing 12;

Evaluation is based on:
- ten multiple choice questions (one point for each correct answer) and open questions.
- one open question (form 0 to 20 points).

Time for the examination: 1 hour

Evaluation grid:
28-30L: excellent command of the topics covered in lectures and in the
textbooks; very good ability to hierarchise information; use of
appropriate technical terminology of the discipline;
26-27: good knowledge of topics covered in lectures and textbooks; good ability to
textbooks; good ability to order information and present it;
substantially correct use of technical terminology of the
discipline;
24-25: fair knowledge of topics covered in lectures and textbooks; fair
textbooks; fair ability to order information; not always correct use of
the technical terminology of the discipline;
22-23: sometimes superficial and/or lacking knowledge of the topics
topics covered in class and in textbooks; not always clear and/or
lacking in the technical terminology of the discipline;
18-21: sometimes superficial and/or lacking knowledge of the topics dealt with in lectures
and in the textbooks, but still sufficient; exposition not clear and/or
deficient and/or with little use of the technical terminology of the discipline
discipline.

Traditional front-lectures as well as group-works (details on the Moodle Platform)

English

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development