Syllabus

Economics of Rural Development

Spring 1995 - - - - AREC 432/532

Instructor:

Bruce Weber
Ball Ext Hall 240G - - - Phone: 737-1432

Time: MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m.

Classroom: Hovland Hall 202

Course Objectives:

Those enrolling in this course can expect to learn: Why some rural areas are growing and others are declining; how rural and urban areas are interdependent; and how growth affects the distribution of income between income classes in these areas. How different intellectual traditions in economics explain the development of rural and urban economies. How to use a basic tool of regional economic analysis: input-output analysis. How to apply economic analysis in the discussion of federal, state or local policy for rural areas.

This course is intended for undergraduates and graduate students in agricultural and resource economics and related disciplines. Graduate students will be required to do some additional readings and some additional work.

Class periods will be devoted to lecture and discussion of assigned readings. Participation in the discussion will require the student to have read the assigned readings prior to the class in which they will be discussed.

Grading:

Grades will be based on the following:

Points

Assignment #1:	Questions you want answered	due March 31	5
Assignment #2:	Input-output Analysis	due April 5	5
Assignment #3:	Location Theory and Central Place Theory	due April 21	5
Assignment #4:	Term Paper Outline & Selected References	due April 30	5
	Midterm Examination	May 5	20
Assignment #5:	Growth Theory	due May 19	5
Assignment #6:	Rural Poverty	due May 26	5
	Term Paper	due June 2	25
	Final Examination	June 7	25
		TOTAL	100

Generally, the grades will follow the usual pattern:

A = 94-100;

A- = 90-93;

B+ = 87-89;

B = 84-87;

B- = 80-83, etc.

Reading List and Course Outline

[ indicates required reading]

March 27	Overview of Course
March 29	The Economy of Rural America: Diverse and Interdependent
	Rural Economic Development in the 1980's: A Summary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 533, October 1987.
	Weber, Bruce A. "Extractive Industries and Rural-Urban Economic Interdependence," in The American Countryside: Rural People and Places, Emery N. Castle, editor, Lawrence: University Press of Kansas (forthcoming)
March 31	What is Rural Development? Development Economics?
	Castle, Emery N., Pierre Crossan, Edwin Mills and Bruce Weber. "Economics and Rural Studies" in Rural Studies and Selected Academic Disciplines: Working Papers, National Rural Studies Committee, December 1990.
	Adelman, Irma. "Development Economics Reassessment of Goals," American Economic Review, 65(2):302-309, May 1975.
	Assignment #1 Due
April 3	The Intersectoral Structure of a Regional Economy: Input-Output Analysis
	Sullivan, Arthur M. Urban Economics, Homewood IL: Irwin, 1990, Chapter 6, pp 139-144
	Miller Ronald E. and Peter D. Blair. Input-Output Analysis: Foundation and Extensions, Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1985. pp 1-20
April 5	Social Accounting in a Regional Economy
	Robinson, Sherman. "Multisectoral Models" Handbook of Development Economics, Vol. II, H. Chenery and T.N. Srinivasan, eds. Amsterdam: North Holland, 1989. (pp 896- 906 required)
April 7	Impacts of Change on a Rural Economy
	Handout
April 10	Why Do Regions Trade: Comparative Advantage Sullivan, Chapter 2, pp 13-22
	Assignment #2 Due
April 12	Why Do Cities Exist: Economies of Scale and Agglomeration Economies Sullivan, Chapter 2, pp 22-31
April 14	Why Do Firms Locate Where They Do? Transport Costs Sullivan, Chapter 3, pp 36-48
April 17	Why Do Firms Locate Where They Do? Local Input Costs Sullivan, Chapter 3, pp 48-62
April 19	Why Is There An Urban Hierarchy? Central Place Theory Sullivan, Chapter 5, pp 87-111
April 21	Review of Location Theory, Central Place Theory
	Assignment #3 Due
April 24	Rural-Urban Interdependence: Explaining Trade and Factor Movements Between Rural and Urban Areas.
	Blair, John P. "Interregional Resource and Commodity Flows" Chapter 9 in Urban and Regional Economics. Homewood, IL: Irwin 1991.
April 26	Analyzing Rural Economies as Part of an Urban-Rural System: Multiregional Input-Output Analyses (MRIO) Miller and Blair, pp 53-63
April 28	Rural-Urban Interdependence: The Evidence
	Waters, Edward C., David Holland and Bruce A. Weber. "Interregional Effects of Reduced Timber Harvests: The Impact of the Northern Spotted Owl Listing in Rural and Urban Oregon." Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 19(1):141-160, July 1994.
	Barkley, David L., Mark S. Henry and Shuming Bao. "Metropolitan Growth, Boone or Bane to Nearby Rural Areas?" Choices, Fourth Quarter, 1994. pp 14-18
	Assignment #4 Due
May 1	Explaining Growth and Change: Institutions and Institutional Change.
	North, Douglass C. "An Introduction to Institutions and Institutional Change," Chapter 1, pp 3-10 in Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
May 3	MIDTERM REVIEW
May 5	MIDTERM EXAMINATION
May 8	Explaining Growth and Change: Neoclassical Models.
	Herrick, Bruce and Charles F. Kindleberger. Economic Development, 4th edition, Chapter 2, NY:McGraw Hill 1983.
	Castle, Emery N. "Economic Theory in Agricultural Economics Research." The Journal of Agricultural Economics Research, Vol. 41, No. 3, Summer 1989.
May 10	Explaining Growth and Change: Early Disequilibrium Models.
	Hirschman, A.O. "Interregional and International Transmission of Economic Growth," Chapter 10, The Strategy of Economic Development, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1958.
	Thirwall, A.P. "Dualism and the Process of Cumulation Causation," Chapter 5 in Growth and Development. Second edition, London: Macmillan Press, 1978.
	Baumol, William J. "Macroeconomics of Unbalanced Growth: The Anatomy of Urban Crisis," American Economic Review, LVII(3):415-26, 1967.
	Kaldor, Nicholas. "The Case of Regional Policies," Scottish Journal of Political Economy. 17(2):337-348, November 1970.
May 12	Explaining Growth in a Rural-Urban System: Core and Periphery
	Krugman, Paul. Geography and Trade, Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1992. Chapter 1.
May 15	Explaining Growth in a Rural-Urban System: Localization Economies and Increasing Returns
	Krugman, Paul. Geography and Trade, Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1992. Chapter 2.
	Mills, Edwin S. and John F. McDonald. "Editors' Introduction" in Sources of Metropolitan Growth, Mills and McDonald, eds., New Brunswick NJ: Center for Urban Policy Research, 1992.
	Mills, Edwin S. "Sectoral Clustering and Metropolitan Development." Chapter 1 in Sources of Metropolitan Growth, Mills and McDonald, eds.
	Beeson, Patricia E. "Agglomeration Economies and Productivity Growth," Chapter 2 in Sources of Metropolitan Growth, Mills and McDonald, eds.
May 17	Explaining Growth in a Rural-Urban System: Increasing Returns, Transportation Costs and Path Dependence
	Krugman, Paul. Geography and Trade, Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1992. Chapter 3.
May 19	Poverty and Inequality
	Danziger, Sheldon H and Daniel H. Weinberg. "The Historical Record," Chapter 2 in Danziger, Sheldon H., Gary D. Sandefur and Daniel H. Weinberg. Confronting Poverty, Prescriptions for Change, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994.
	Assignment #5 Due
May 22	Poverty in Rural Areas
	Summers, Gene F. "Persistent Rural Poverty," Chapter 11 in The American Countryside: Rural People and Places, Emery N. Castle, editor, Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, forthcoming.
	Hirschl, Thomas A. and David L. Brown. "The Determinants of Rural and Urban Poverty," Chapter 12 in The American Countryside: Rural People and Places, Emery N. Castle, editor, Lawrence: University of Kansas, forthcoming.
May 24	Poverty, Income Distribution and Economic Development
	Adelman, Irma and Sherman Robinson. "Income Distribution and Development" Chapter 19 in Handbook of Development Economics, Volume II, edited by H. Chenery and T.N. Srinivasan, Amsterdam: North Holland, 1989. (pp 950-957, 960-973, 988-997, required)
May 26	Rural Policy: Federal and State Policy for the Development of Rural Areas.
	John, DeWitt. "Where is Rural Policy Headed?" in The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 529:22-33, September 1993.
	Bartik, Timothy J. "Jobs, Productivity, and Local Economic Development: What Implications Does Economic Research Have for the Role of Government?" in National Tax Journal, Volume XLVII, No. 4, December 1994.
	Courant, Paul N. "How Would You Know a Good Economic Policy If You Tripped Over One? Hint: Don't Just Count Jobs" in National Tax Journal, Volume XLVII, No. 4, December 1994.
	Castle, Emery N. "Rural Diversity: An American Asset" in The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 529:12-21, September 1993.
	Rural Economic Development in the 1980's: A Summary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 533, October 1987.
	Martin, Michael, David Harrison and John Redman, "Should the State Have a Separate and Distinct Economic Development Policy for Rural Oregon?" Rural Policy: The Oregon Debate 1990, Corvallis, OR: Rural Policy Research Group, 1990.
	Assignment #6 Due
May 29	Holiday
May 31	Local Development Strategies: What Can Rural Areas Do?
	Drabenstott, Mark and Tim R. Smith. "Finding Rural Success: The New Rural Economic Landscape and Its Implications," Chapter 9 in The American Countryside: Rural People and Places, Emery N. Castle, editor, Lawrence: University of Kansas, forthcoming.
	Barkley, David, John Keith and Steve M. Smith. "The Potential for High Technology Manufacturing in Nonmetropolitan Areas." Western Rural Development Center Report 97, March 1989.
June 2	Economics of Rural Development: A Review and Assessment
	Term Paper Due
June 7	Final Exam 12 noon - 2 p.m.
June 7	Final Exam 12 noon - 2 p.m.

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