The M.A. Development Economics program will be offered by the Faculty of Economics. The duration of the program will be two years (four semesters). The focus of the first two semesters will be on the core courses in economics. In the third and fourth semesters, there will be optional courses which will offer the students a wide range of choices. At the end of second semester, the student will choose a topic for the dissertation and a supervisor will be allotted to guide his/her research. The choice of optional courses in the third and the fourth semester will help the students in writing his/her thesis/essay.

Objectives of the Program:
The key objective of the program will be to introduce the students to economic theory along with their applications to developing economies in general, and South Asian economies in particular. The course will provide the necessary analytical and critical skills that will prepare the students for further research and for work as professional economists. Apart from providing rigorous training in quantitative training in applied economics, the course will aim at exposing the students to alternative theoretical foundations in economics. There will be a specific emphasis in understanding the problems of regional economic development in South Asia.

Course Structure

Semester-I
[All compulsory courses of 4 credits each]

1. Micro-Economics-I                                                     
2. Macro-Economics-I
3. Development Economics-I
4. Quantitative Methods in Economics

1. Microeconomics-II
2. Macroeconomics-II
3. Econometrics -I
4. Development Economics-II

Semester-III
[One compulsory and three optional courses of 3 credits each]

1. South Asian Economic Development  (Compulsory course)
2. Public Economics
3. International Trade
4. Labor Economics
5. Environmental and Resource Economics
6. Economics of Institutions
7. Agricultural Economics
8. Industrial Organization Theory
9. Game Theory
10. Economics and Law
11. Econometrics -II
12. Financial Economics
13. Population Economics
14. Classical Political Economy
15. Regional Economic Analysis
16. Economics of Education and Health

Semester-IV
[One compulsory and three optional courses of 3 credits each]

1. Natural Resources and Development in South Asia (Compulsory course)
2. Agricultural Development and Transition in Developing Countries
3. Industrial Development
4. Urbanization, Migration and Regional Development
5. Poverty and Inequality
6. International Finance
7. Human Development
8. Gender and Economic Development
9. Governance, Human Security and Development
10. Regional Cooperation and Development
11. Globalization and Developing Economies
12. Economic Development in China and India:  A Comparative View
13. Economics of Discrimination and Social Exclusion

Dissertation: [8 Credits spread over II and IV Semester]
During the third semester, each student will be allocated a supervisor for the dissertation (maximum length 10,000 words).  The topic of the dissertation must be formally approved by the Faculty.  During the third and the fourth semesters the student will meet the supervisor to discuss and finalize an outline of the topic, a bibliography, the use of appropriate data and methods of analysis, and a draft of the dissertation.