Fall 2009

ECO 355 • Devel Probs/Pols in Lat Ameri

Course Description

Course description Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC), more than any other region, has been and continues to be a laboratory for economic theories, ideologies, and strategies. This has been a mixed blessing, at best, for residents of the region. However, those who seek to understand the determinants of economic performance and development find here an abundance of raw material. LAC economies are today part legacy and part dynamic reshaping of intellectual and political influences (some indigenous, others imported). In this course, current circumstances in the economies of Latin America & the Caribbean prompt us to ask how such things arise and where they might lead. The principal objective of the graded assignments in this course is to enable your engagement with the scholarly literature on LAC economies - that is, to learn how to learn from relevant experts. Secondary course objectives include deepening your understanding of the region's economies, exercising your talents in information retrieval and processing, and sharpening your writing skills. Your grade in this course will depend principally on your success in accessing, understanding, and communicating (in writing) scholarly debates or issues of relevance to the economies of LAC.

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