First Semester Second Term
This course of rural economics is targeted for graduate students. It is important for students to understand the dynamics of rural economies in order to understand the economics in general and the world economy and the economy of a country and or the meso and micro regions, more so in the case of developing countries where vast number of people live in rural regions and the bulk share of the economy being taken by rural economy. Recently, rural-urban migration is also widespread, which effects the rural economies and the livelihood of the people. On the other hand, many of the industries are moving from urban centres to the rural and semi-urban regions for various reasons. Thus, rural economics is needed to be understood in relation to rural/urban dynamism as well. In this course, general understanding of rurality, rural economies will be discussed, first by studying the basic concepts, theories and the students will learn about these dynamics in the world with their country-specific cases and research works. It will be 15 lectures course for 2 credits.
Course code: X0010927
Instructor: Prof. Keshav Lall Maharjan supported by Mr Shree Kumar Maharjan as TF
Duration: 180 minutes per class, which is divided into 4 sessions each of 45 minutes – Lecture, Discussion, Presentation of case studies by students.
Day & time: Wednesday, 12:50 – 14:20 and 14:35 – 16:05 (two lectures each day)
Start date: 11 June 2019
Classroom: 508, IDEC (5th Floor)
Learning Goals:
• Familiarizing the theories, concepts and practical cases of rurality, rural economics and rural economies in the world with country-specific examples.
• Critically and creative thinking about the rural economies, rural economics
• Acquainting the structure of rural economies – farming, industrialization and possible interactions, rural organizations and problems in rural economies
• Familiarizing practical ways to carry out or document case studies/researches on rural economics
• Strengthening the students’ skills on preparation and presentations of the case studies
Teaching and Learning activities
• Conceptual clarity on rurality and rural economies
• Analyze and understand of situational factors including the characteristics of the students
• Lectures and discussion in the classes
• Questions and Answers
• Group discussions
• Literature review
• Documentation and preparation of specific cases related to the topic
• Students’ presentation of the country-specific cases
• In-depth Reflective Dialogue
Feedback and assessment
• Verbal and written feedback and assessments (weekly journals/learning logs, mid-term and end-term)
• Presentations by the students
• Interactions and active participation in the class and discussions
• Assignments and tests
Contents
1. Introduction – the concept of rurality and theories of economics
2. Rural economy and its structure
3. Economic growth theories
4. Rural economy, farming and industrialization and Interdependence between industry and farming
5. Problems/Issues in rural economics and roles/functions of rural organizations in dealing with these problems
6. Importance of rural economies in sustainable development
7. Rediscovering the rural economies
8. Comprehensive discussion and overall evaluation of the course
Details of learning outcomes, activities and assessment:
1. Introduction – The concept of rurality and theories of economics
Learning objectives- Understand the basic concept of rural/urban, its interlinkages and the basic concept of economics with examples
Teaching Learning activities
– Lectures
– Discussions
– Question/Answers
– Examples – Students’ expectations check from the course
Feedback & Assessment
– Weekly Journals/Learning logs
– Questions and students’ contribution to the discussions
2. Rural economy and its structure
Learning objectives – Familiarize the rural economy structures and present their country-specific structure in the discussion
Teaching Learning activities
– Lectures
– Discussions
– Question/Answers
– Examples
– Micro-teaching
Feedback & Assessment
– Weekly Journals/Learning logs
– Students’ presentation
– Students’ contribution to the discussions
3. Economic growth theories in the rural context
Learning objectives – Acquaint the students on the economic theories and try to contextualize in rural context
Teaching Learning activities
– Lectures
– Discussions
– Question/Answers
– Examples
– Reading published papers
Feedback & Assessment
– Weekly Journals/Learning logs
– Questions and students’ contribution to the discussions
4. Rural economy, farming and industrialization and Interdependence between industry and farming
Learning objectives – Understand interconnections between rural economy and farming, types of rural industries and interconnections with industrialization
– Acquaint the interdependence including the forward and backward linkages of industries and farming
Teaching Learning activities
– Lectures
– Discussions
– Question/Answers
– Examples
– Reading published papers
Feedback & Assessment
– Weekly Journals/Learning logs
– Students’ presentation
– Students’ contribution to the discussions
5. Problems/issues in rural economics and roles/functions of rural organizations
Learning objectives – Describe and discuss the common and specific problems and challenges faced by the rural areas in developed and developing countries
Learning objectives – Explore and analyze the roles and functions of rural institutions in rural economics and overall development
Teaching Learning activities
– Lectures
– Discussions
– Question/Answers
– Examples
– Reading published papers
– Students presentation
Feedback & Assessment
– Weekly Journals/Learning logs
– Students’ presentation
– Students’ contribution to the discussions
6. Importance of rural economies in sustainable development
Learning objectives – Understanding the prevailing poverty and inequalities in rural areas and the importance of improving rural economies for sustainable development
Teaching Learning activities
– Lectures
– Discussions
– Question/Answers
– Examples
– Reading published papers including SDGS
Feedback & Assessment
– Weekly Journals/Learning logs
– Students’ presentation
– Students’ contribution to the discussions
7. Rediscovering the rural economies
Learning objectives – Analyze and understand the interactions between economic sectors in rural areas
Teaching Learning activities
– Lectures
– Discussions
– Question/Answers
– Examples
– Reading published papers
Feedback & Assessment
– Weekly Journals/Learning logs
– Questions and students’ contribution to the discussions
8. Comprehensive discussion and overall evaluation of the course
Learning objectives – Realize the students’ perceptions and understanding the course and linkage with their research (if any) and suggestions/feedbacks for the improvements
– Open discussion and sharing the thoughts, lessons learned, feedback on the course and lectures
– Final evaluation of the course
Feedback & Assessment
– Final report/examination
– Weekly Journals/Learning logs
– Questions
– Final assessment of the course and students’ level of understanding