RECD 9/16//2019 @3



COAS REQUEST TO COLLEGE CURRICULM COMMITTEE FOR CURRICULAR IMPROVEMENTSCOAS REQUEST TO COLLEGE CURRICULM COMMITTEE FOR CURRICULAR IMPROVEMENTS ECON 6880 - L-2019-ECON-195RECD 9/16//2019 @3Department: ECONInitiator name: Mark WheelerInitiator email: mark.wheeler@wmich.eduProposed effective term: 202040Does course need General Education approval?: NWill course be used in teacher education?: NIf 5000 level course, prerequisites apply to: GProposed course data:Change Course ECON 6880Specific Course Change type selected: Description1. Existing course prefix and number:ECON 6880A. Please choose Yes or No to indicate if this class is a Teacher Education class:NoB. Please choose the applicable class level:GraduateC. Please respond Yes if this is a current general education course and/or a course being submitted for the new WMU Essential Studies program. Please respond No if it is neither.NoD. Explain briefly and clearly the proposed improvement.We wish to change the course description to more accurately reflect what is being taught in ECON 6880. No other changes are requested.E. Rationale. Give your reason(s) for the proposed improvement. (If your proposal includes prerequisites, justify those, too.).We wish to change the course description to more accurately reflect what is being taught in ECON 6880. No other changes are requested.F. List the student learning outcomes for the proposed course or the revised or proposed major, minor, or concentration. These are the outcomes that the department will use for future assessments of the course or program.Students can describe the current development microeconomics literature in the areas of health, education, markets and governance. Students can explain the most common empirical challenges and methods in the field.Students can clean, manage, and analyze common types of data from developing countries.Students can apply the best methods for a particular research question and draw conclusions based on the results.G. Describe how this curriculum change is a response to student learning assessment outcomes that are part of a departmental or college assessment plan or informal assessment activities.The content of ECON 6880 has been changed over time to reflect changes in the field of Economic Development. We need to change the course description to match these changes in course content.H. Effect on other colleges, departments or programs. If consultation with others is required, attach evidence of consultation and support. If objections have been raised, document the resolution. Demonstrate that the program you propose is not a duplication of an existing one.There will be no effects on other college, department or programs. ECON 6880 is taken by graduate students in the Department of Economics only.I. Effect on your department's programs. Show how the proposed change fits with other departmental offerings.This change will have no effect on our depatment's programs. As in the past, the course will continue to be offered in the fall semester on an 'every other year' basis. J. Effects on enrolled students: are program conflicts avoided? Will your proposal make it easier or harder for students to meet graduation requirements? Can students complete the program in a reasonable time? Show that you have considered scheduling needs and demands on students' time. If a required course will be offered during summer only, provide a rationale.There are no effects on currently enrolled students. ECON 6880 is being offered in the Fall 2019 semester. These students will not be effected by the change in course description.ECON 6880 will not be offered in AY 2020- 2021. Although this change is request for Fall 2020, it will not impact students until the course is offered again in Fall 2021. These students are not yet enrolled at WMU.K. Student or external market demand. What is your anticipated student audience? What evidence of student or market demand or need exists? What is the estimated enrollment? What other factors make your proposal beneficial to students?ECON 6880 has had an enrollment of 6 -10 students per semester over the last decade. We anticipate that the change in course description will have no impact on this.L. Effects on resources. Explain how your proposal would affect department and University resources, including faculty, equipment, space, technology, and library holdings. Tell how you will staff additions to the program. If more advising will be needed, how will you provide for it? How often will course(s) be offered? What will be the initial one-time costs and the ongoing base-funding costs for the proposed program? (Attach additional pages, as necessary.) There will be no impact on resources. This course has been taught in the fall semester on an 'every other year' basis for some time. It will continue to be taught in the fall semester on an 'every other year' basis.M. With the change from General Education to WMU Essential Studies, this question is no longer used.For courses requesting approval as a WMU Essential Studies course, a syllabus identifying the student learning outcomes and an action plan for assessing the student learning outcomes must be attached in the Banner Workflow system.Not ApplicableN. (Undergraduate proposals only) Describe, in detail, how this curriculum change affects transfer articulation for Michigan community colleges. For course changes, include detail on necessary changes to transfer articulation from Michigan community college courses. For new majors or minors, describe transfer guidelines to be developed with Michigan community colleges. For revisions to majors or minors, describe necessary revisions to Michigan community college guidelines. Department chairs should seek assistance from college advising directors or from the admissions office in completing this section.Not applicable.O. Current catalog copy:ECON 6880 - Economic Development I. An intensive examination of a number of selected key topics in development economics, centering on issues of crucial importance to developing nations. Examples of such issues are primary products, capital formation, technological change, inflation, debt servicing, population, etc.P. Proposed catalog copy:ECON 6880 - Economic Development I. An intensive examination of key topics in the economics of low-income countries, centering on microeconomic issues and methods. Examples of such issues are poverty measurement, health, education, market failures, and institutions. Department Curriculum Chair approver: Wei-Chiao HuangDepartment Curriculum Chair comment: Date: 16-SEP-2019Department approver: Wei-Chiao HuangChair comment: Date: 16-SEP-2019Western Michigan UniversityProf. Christine MoserDepartment of Economics Fall 20195420 Friedmann christine.moser@wmich.edEcon 6880 Issues in Economic Development6:00 pm - 8:30 pmWednesdayDunbar Hall 2202Office hours:Thursdays3:30-5:30Course Description:This is a course in applied microeconomic development. Broadly speaking, we will be trying to understand what keeps poor people poor, what factors lead to good or bad outcomes and how policies can affect these outcomes. We will discuss the economic theory of how we think people and households behave, but the focus is on the empirical methods and results in the literature. While there is a lot of theory and econometrics in this course, with every topic we will take a step back to think about the practical policy implications.Texts and Papers:All readings will be posted on e-learning. There are two types of reading (both required). The first are chapters from the Handbook of Development Economics series or other texts. These provide the background and theory and are the basis for lectures.The second are journal articles. These are either recent articles or seminal papers to give you a sense of where the field is going. Only the journal articles will be used for the paper summaries (see below).Twitter:Twitter is one of the best ways to keep up with current research in development economics and economics more broadly. Therefore, I am going to require that you follow me on Twitter. This is not a scheme to increase the number of followers I have and I will not be offended if you stop following me when the semester is finished. I will be retweeting links to papers, current research, and debates, some of which we will discuss in class or use as discussion papers. My twitter handle is@DrCMoser.Course Grade:Data assignments (3 assignments):45%Research concept notes (3 assignments):24%Paper summaries and discussion:11%Final (cumulative):20%Data Assignments:The data assignments are meant to give you experience with the types of data sets common in development economics. The first assignment does not require any econometrics, but will introduce you to data cleaning and management. The second and third assignments will require some basic regression work.Paper Discussions:These are 5-10 minute in-class, informal summaries of the assigned journal articles. You should discuss the central idea or hypotheses of the paper, the theoretical model (if any), the data, the econometric techniques used, findings, and contribution. You should expect to present 3-4 times during the semester.Research Concept Notes:These are 1-2 page mini-papers on a research idea of your choice related to topics covered in the most recent section of the course. You should include a brief description of the issue and why it is important, a brief summary of the most recent and relevant literature in this area, a testable hypothesis, and how you could test the hypothesis (kind of data or study needed, estimation strategy, etc.). You can think of these as equivalent to the introduction sections of published papers. (I should mention that I took this idea from Dr. Laura Schechter, who in turn got it from a course at Berkeley).Tentative Course OutlineSectionWeekDatesTopicDue DatesSection IIntroduction, Poverty measurement, methodsWeek 128-Aug-19a. What is development? What is poverty and how do we measure it?Week 24-Sep-19b. Empirical Issues and methodsWeek 311- Sep-19b. Empirical Issues (cont)Section II Nutrition, health, educationWeek 418- Sep-19a. Nutrition and HealthData Ex.1Week 525-Sep-19b. EducationWeek 62-Oct-19c. Basic household modelsResearch concept section ISection III MarketsWeek 79-Oct-19a. Markets16-Oct-19Fall breakWeek 823-Oct-19b. Land and LaborWeek 930-Oct-19c. Credit and savingsData Ex.2Section IV Technological ChangeWeek 106-Nov-19a. InsuranceResearch concept section IIWeek 1113-Nov-19b. Business development/ EntrepreneurshipPart V Institutions and governanceWeek 1220-Nov-19a. The role of culture and institutions in developmentData Ex.327-Nov-19Thanksgiving breakWeek 134-Dec-19b. governance and corruptionResearch concept section III1080135520700WednesdayDecember 117:15 to 9:15 p.m.00WednesdayDecember 117:15 to 9:15 p.m.**note no class Oct 16 for Fall Break or Nov 27 for Thanksgiving Final exam:Blogs I recommend:The World Bank’s Development Impact Blog: Blattman’s Development blog: note that you are responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures in the Undergraduate (pp. 274-276) [Graduate (pp. 25-27)] Catalog that pertain to Academic Honesty. These policies include cheating, fabrication, falsification and forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse. If there is reason to believe you have been involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. You will be given the opportunity to review the charge(s). If you believe you are not responsible, you will have the opportunity for a hearing. You should consult with me if you are uncertain about an issue of academic honesty prior to the submission of an assignment or test. ................
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