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LeadAfrik
Intermediate · Self-paced2026 Edition

Development Economics

Why some economies grow and others don't, what the RCT revolution has actually settled, the East Asian industrial-policy debate read for African contexts, and the structural-transformation challenge — through 2040.

8

Modules

~7h 55m

Reading time

Intermediate

Level

Self-paced

Format

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Syllabus

  1. 01

    What is development?

    Beyond GDP — Sen's Capability Approach, HDI construction, the Multidimensional Poverty Index, inequality measurement.

    ~55 minModule 01
    →
  2. 02

    Growth theory — Solow to endogenous

    Solow-Swan, conditional convergence, the Solow residual, endogenous-growth theory (Romer, Lucas), African growth accounting.

    ~60 minModule 02
    →
  3. 03

    Poverty traps and the Big Push debate

    Single vs multiple equilibria, S-shaped savings traps, fixed-cost traps, coordination failures, the Sachs-Easterly debate.

    ~55 minModule 03
    →
  4. 04

    Structural transformation

    Lewis dual-economy, McMillan-Rodrik decomposition, premature deindustrialisation, the services-led alternative.

    ~60 minModule 04
    →
  5. 05

    Industrial policy

    Horizontal vs vertical, the East Asian developmental state, Mauritius and Ethiopia case studies, the Hausmann-Rodrik framework.

    ~60 minModule 05
    →
  6. 06

    Institutions and growth

    Acemoglu-Robinson inclusive vs extractive institutions, the colonial-origins thesis, property-rights channel, the Botswana exception.

    ~60 minModule 06
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  7. 07

    RCTs and the empirical revolution

    Banerjee-Duflo-Kremer methodology, canonical findings (microfinance, deworming, CCTs, graduation), external validity, J-PAL evidence base.

    ~60 minModule 07
    →
  8. 08

    Demography, climate, and the 2040 agenda

    Demographic-dividend window, African-specific climate impacts, just transition, the 8-priority development agenda for 2024-2040.

    ~65 minModule 08
    →

How to use this course

Start with module 01 if the material is new; skip ahead if you have prior exposure. Each module is self-contained but the arc is sequential — the projects in the final module assume the toolkit from modules 1-11. Every module ends with key takeaways and a curated further-reading list with primary sources.