GV315-6-AU-CO:
Political Economy of Development in the Global South
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2025/26
Government
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 6
Inactive
Thursday 02 October 2025
Friday 12 December 2025
15
14 June 2023
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
Development is highly dependent on local institutions and their effectiveness. Perspectives of political economy can help disentangle how institutions drive development, by using an interdisciplinary approach at the intersection of politics, economics, sociology, anthropology and history.
The class begins by exploring definitions and theories essential to the political economy of development. Then it considers various empirical issues and broad trends in how development occur, improves and is hampered by institutions in the Global South. The course focuses in particular on local institutional actors rather than mainly on international aid.
The aim of this module is:
- To provide students with a general awareness of the broad trends in development, thinking about local institutions and how to build and support them, and the relevant actors in development, particular with a view to perspectives of political economy.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to:
- Be aware of debates surrounding the relationship between institutions and development and more generally about the preconditions for political and economic development;
- Be able to state informed opinions with regard to the successes and failures of development and how local, domestic and foreign actors and development can cooperate in the future;
- Have an improved capacity for reading graphs and understanding presentations of data;
- Have an improved capacity for producing original research using primary documents and/or data and an improved capacity for presenting this research in term paper format.
No additional information available.
The module will be delivered via:
- 1 x 2 hour seminar each week
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Florian Kern
Dr Florian Kern: fkern@essex.ac.uk
Module Administrator: Edmund Walker, govquery@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Stefano Pagliari
City, University of London
Senior Lecturer in International Politics
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
Government
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
Disclaimer: The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its Module Directory is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can
be necessary to make changes, for example to programmes, modules, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements,
industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to modules may for example consist
of variations to the content and method of delivery or assessment of modules and other services, to discontinue modules and other services and to merge or combine modules.
The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications and module directory.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.