IZA/FCDO G²LM|LIC ONLINE Development Economics Course

Trailer

Background

We are happy to announce that the IZA/FCDO Programme on Gender, Growth and Labor Markets in Low-Income Countries (G²LM|LIC) is sponsoring the ONLINE EVENT: "Development Economics Course", May 12 – July 14, 2025.

This course addresses the question of why fundamentally equal humans living in different countries enjoy very different standards of living. The aim of this course is to make the very latest research in economics on these issues accessible to anyone who is sufficiently curious about it. It is modeled after the award-winning undergraduate development course at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and, like its model, it is entirely based on research articles. Moreover, all participants will be given access to a compact video course on impact evaluation methods taught by Prof. Stefano Caria (University of Warwick).

The course is designed for undergraduate students, but we invite applications from grad/post-grad students and employees from the public and private sector as well. It is open to all residents of African and Asian countries on this list. A basic knowledge of economics, statistics, mathematics is useful but there are no prerequisites other than a deep clear curiosity about the subject. Our goal is to open a window on the world of research, and to give students a glimpse of what economics can do. The language of instruction is English. The course is free of charge for the participants.

The course runs for 10 weeks from May 12 to July 14, 2025 and is structured as follows: Every week there will be a one-hour lecture and a one-hour tutorial. The lectures will be live on Zoom in weeks 1 and 10, and on video in weeks 2-9. The tutorials will be live on Zoom in weeks 2-9 taught by teaching assistants from LSE. Participants can choose out of several time slots when to attend the tutorial every week. We expect readings and problem sets to take between 2 and 8 hours per week. Participants attending at least 6 tutorials will be given a certificate of participation.

Instructors

Oriana Bandiera (London School of Economics and IZA)
Robin Burgess (London School of Economics)