Economia de Desenvolvimento Agrário (Rural)

Lecture notes 1

February 2008

Outline

• My background

• Background of students – expectations – through their representatives

• Schedule – agree with students

• Course content/required reading – discuss with students

• Objectives of the course

My background

• MA in Economics 1968• UNDP and FAO Peru 1968-71• Economic Commission for Latin America 1971-

74• University of Lund PhD 1981• PhD course in environmental economics 2004• Mozambique 1979-81 and since then

consultancies about 2 times per year• For details: http://web.comhem.se/tom.alberts

My co-ordinates

• t.alberts@devpro.se

• My new Web Site: http://web.comhem.se/t.alberts

I will try to up-load lecture notes etc onto my Web Site.

• 82 39 62 600

Schedule

• Mondays: 17:30-19:00

• Tuesdays: 15:45-17:15

• Wednesdays: 17:30-19:00 (not 13 February)

I will be available one hour before the lecture starts.

Extra session one Saturday - Internet

Reading List

• I assume that you have read:

PLANO DE ACÇÃO PARA A REDUÇÃO DA POBREZA ABSOLUTA 2006-2009

Can be found on the Web (Portal do Governo)

and

• ESTRATÉGIA DE DESENVOLVIMENTO RURAL (EDR) Setembro de 2007

• Decentralisation policies of the Government of Mozambique

• And the The Science and Technology Strategy of May 2006.

Major textbook

• Todaro, Michael P. and Smith, Stephen C.

Economic Development 9th EditionIt is a big book with lots of useful references

For students visit: www.aw-bc.com/todaro_smith

For those who have difficulties with basic Economics

• Samuelson, Paul A. and Nordhaus, William D.Economía

• It is a standard texbook in economics but any one will do.

Case studies

• URBAN BIAS IN DEVELOPMENT REVISITED POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES IN TANZANIA

Tom Alberts

Stockholm, 8 February, 2005

Can be downloaded from my Web site (Adobe)

Perhaps a book – …Can be downloaded from my Web Site

• Theoretical Framework• Wasting Water. Peru 1979 and Swaziland

1998, the same sad story• Vested Interests in Action. Two

Multinational Companies in Argentina 1985

• Using Scarce Resources Better. Mission Impossible?

• The Choice of Technology Revisited

• Evaluation of IBIS extension programme in the Zambezia province (Report available)

• Mozambique – A Success Story in Poverty Alleviation? Can be down loaded from my Web Site.

Objectives of the Course

General objectives:

To provide the students with basic knowledge of applied economic theory relevant to Mozambican rural and agricultural development so as to enhance their capacity to analyze problems and propose practical solutions; and

To provide the students with a general background of the international discourse on economic and socio-economic development, with particular emphasis on rural and agricultural development.

Specific objectives

Develop the students’ capacity to provide policy analysis and develop policy options;

Train the students to use the Internet to find relevant information for problem solving; and

Train the students to apply economic theory on specific problems including areas such as:

…areas such as:

o The importance of defining costs and benefits in economic terms (costs and benefits to society)

oDomestic and international tradeo Foreign direct investments in Mozambican

agriculture – opportunities and threatso The choice of technology

…areas such as:

oResource allocationo Pricing policyoMeasures on development such as the

Human Development Indexo Poverty issuesoDistribution of income and wealthoConstraints and possibilities of rural and

agricultural development in Mozambique

For this you will have to understand

• Average and marginal productivity

• Total, average and marginal costs

• Supply and Demand curves

• Price and income elasticities

• Opportunity costs

• Net present value

• Discounting

and

• Real and nominal values - inflation

• Consumer price index and other indices

• Profit maximization

• The difference between social and private costs and benefits

• Terms-of-Trade

• And …

Course requirement

• Pass a written exam – date?

• Summarize 3 scientific articles within an area of interest to you and:– The articles should be written in English– They should be in the AGORA collection –

more than 900 academic journals available to you

– The Summary can be in Portuguese

AGORA

• Web Site: www.aginternetwork.org

• User name: ag-MOZ002• Password: d9gV2QL3• The article must be from the

AGORA database!

Googles

• Googles is very rapid• Use advanced search• Here you can rapidly find the articles you are

interested in You cannot download most academic articles!!

• Have to use AGORA• Try also Googles Scholar

• Time to practice!!!