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ECON2915 - Growth and business structure

Course content

Why are some countries so rich and some countries so poor? What determines economic growth? Will economic growth lead poor countries to catch up with the rich, or will the gap increase? In this course we seek to learn more about these questions by studying the central theories of economic growth.

How do we explain the ways economic activity in a country is distributed over different industries? What is the role of availability of resources of production for determining comparative advantage? How does this affect patterns of trade? What are the effects on the economy of international trade?

Most countries have experienced substantial changes in the sectoral composition of the economy in times of economic growth. How can we understand these changes? In particular: what has driven the seminal changes in the relative sizes of the agricultural sector, the industrial sector, and the service sector.

Throughout the course, the theories will be presented with a close reference to the major patterns of global and local economic development over the last two hundred years. Special emphasis will be placed on the most recent 50-year period. The empirical and historical evidence will also be used to highlight shortcomings of the theoretical models.

Learning outcomes

You will gain a theoretical foundation for discussing the sectoral composition of economic activities, and how it is affected by international trade, economic growth, and technological progress. You will also gain a good understanding of the central elements of neo-classical theories of economic growth. You will get practice in how to use the theoretical models to discuss issues connected to economic history, economic development and poverty.

Admission

Students at UiO must apply for courses in StudentWeb.

International applicants, if you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.

The examination in this course is not available for external candidates. Only students admitted to the course may sit for the examination.

Prerequisites

Formal prerequisites

ECON1210 - Consumer behavior, firm behavior and markets and ECON1310 - Macroeconomic theory and policy or MAT1700 - Introduksjon til mikro- og makroøkonomi

Teaching

Lectures: 2 hours per week throughout the semester.

Seminars: 2 hours per week through parts of the semester.

There might occur weeks exempt from teaching (where students are expected to do compulsory term paper).

One compulsory term paper.

If the compulsory term paper are not approved, students will have a new attempt by handing in a new paper. A student who still not succeed, will not be permitted to take the exam in this course.

Exam information

A 3-hour written school exam. Students are not allowed to present themselves to the written school exam if the compulsory term papers are not approved.

When the compulsory term paper is approved, the result will be registered. Students can retake the written exam later without handing in compulsory term paper again.

Assessment and grading

Course grades are awarded on a descending scale using alphabetic grades from A to E for passes and F for fail. Read more about the grading system .

An external auditor regularly evaluates the academic quality of the course, including the form of exam used on the course.

Explanations and appeals

Students can request an explanation of their grades, and can also appeal against their grades or make a complaint about formal examination errors. Read more about explanations and appeals

Possibility of make-up exams and re-takes

You can usually resit an exam, but the conditions depend on whether you had a valid reason for absence from the regular exam. Read more about resitting an exam .

Withdrawing from exams and limits on re-takes

A student can sit for this exam up to 3 times. If a student wishes to withdraw from the exam, s/he must do this in StudentWeb at least two weeks prior to the first day of the exam. Failure to do so will be counted as one of the three opportunities to sit for the exam.

Exam options for students with special needs

Students may apply for access to alternative exam resources or exam forms on the basis of chronic illness and/or special needs that create a marked disadvantage to other students in the exam situation. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.

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