- Docente: Massimo Ricottilli
- Credits: 6
- SSD: SECS-P/02
- Language: English
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Rimini
- Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Economics and Market Policy (cod. 8212)
Course contents
· Introduction
- Sustained economic development an unprecedented occurrence.
- Historical background
· The problem of an economy that cannot generate systematic technical progress. I
- Extensive growth: population dynamics and the available surplus.
- Consumption per head, investment and the rate of growth
- Diminishing returns
· The problem of an economy that cannot generate systematic technical progress. II
- Accumulation of surplus labour
- Towards a Malthusian crisis.
· Discussion and presentations
· The structure of an economic system
- The Leontief Matrix
- The maximal growth rate and the rate of surplus
- Eigen values and eigenvectors: the economic interpretation
- Effective demand in a multi-sector system
· The index of total productivity
- The necessary wage rate as a social input
- The basic system
- The rate of growth
· The notion of structural change
- From a simple one sector economy to a multi-sector economy
- The transition problem
- Implied trade-off's
· The Traverse
- The algebra of traverse
- The fundamental trade-off and the difficulties to develop
- Some historical references
· Discussions and presentations
· The nature of money and its importance for development
- An evolutionary and historical perspective
- Credit and debt
· The nature of money II
- The standard theory and its pitfalls
- Monetary institutions
- Risk and uncertainty
· Technical Progress I
- Towards a theory of endogenous technical progress
- Early concepts and conundrums
- From Keynes to Kaldor
- How to read the I=S equation
· Technical progress II
- The neo-classical approach
- Romer and Lucas
- The unanswered question
· Discussion and presentations
· Technical progress III: Alternative theories
- Searching and learning
- Bounded rationality
- The building of technological capabilities
· Feedback processes
- Path dependence
- Lock-in
- Technological trajectories
· Knowledge and information
- Arrivals and process of information
- Networks
- The evolutionary approach
· Innovations and diffusion of innovations
- Models of self-organised criticality
- Local and global interaction
· Discussion and presentations
· Forging ahead and falling behind
- Searching for the keys of development
- Robustness and resilience
· Towards a conclusion
- Some recent experiences: China and India
- A brief overview of the development outlook
Readings/Bibliography
A short bibliography and references
The following reference items are meant to provide a reading guide both to each of the above stated topics and to eventual further research. The key reference will be given at the end of each lecture.
- Aghion P., Howitt P.(1998): ‘Endogenous Growth Theory', MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
- The Cambridge Economic History.
- Andergassen R. Nardini F. Ricottilli M. (2006): ‘Innovation Waves, Self-organised Criticality and Technological Convergence.' The Journal of Economic Behavior and Organisation. Vol. 61, pp. 710-728.
- Andergassen R. Nardini F. Ricottilli M. (2009): ‘Innovation and Growth through Local and Global Interaction.' The Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control. Vol. 33. pp. 1779-1795.
- Diamond J. (1997): ‘Guns, Germs and Steel. The Fates of Human Societies.' W.W. Norton & Company, New York.
- Diamond J. (2004) : ‘Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed'. Viking and Penguin Books.
- Dopfer K. (2005): ‘The Evolutionary Foundation of Economics'. Cambridge University Press.
- Goodwin R.M. (1974): ‘The Use of Normalised General Co-ordinates in Linear Value and Distribution Theory.' In Polenské K.R., Skolka J.V. (eds): ‘Advances in Input-Output Analysis'. Proceedings of the Sixth Conference on Input-Output Techniques, Wien.
- Goyal S. (2007): ‘ Connections'. Princeton University Press. Princeton.
- Hicks J. (1973): ‘Capital and Time.' Clarendon Press, Oxford.
- Holland J. (1998): Emergence: From Chaos to Order. Oxford University Press. Oxford
- Kauffman S. (1993): ‘ The Origin of Order'. Oxford University Press
- Kurz H.D., Salvadori N. (1995):' Theory of Production: a long period analysis.' Cambridge University Press.
- Landes D.(1999). ‘The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. W. W. Norton, New York
- Lewis A. (1954): ‘Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of labour'.‘The Manchester School of Economic and Social Studies' Vol.2, n.2.
- Pasinetti. L. (1981): ‘Structural change and economic growth : a theoretical essay on the dynamics of the wealth of nations', Cambridge University Press.
- Pomeranz K. (2000): ‘The Great Divergence'. Princeton University Press. Princeton.
- Ricottilli M. (1993): Teoria dello Sviluppo Economico'. La Nuova Italia Scientifica, Roma.
- Ricottilli M. (1993):‘ Perspectives on Development'. in Vaggi G. (ed.): ‘ From the Debt Crisis to Sustainable Development'. Macmillan, London.
- Ricottilli M. (1994):'Technical Progress, Innovative Activity and Development'. The International Journal of Technology Management. Vol. 9, no.3/4.
- Ricottilli M. (2008): ‘Division of Labour, Traverse and Evolving Structures', in Hagemann H., Scazzieri R., (eds.): ‘Capital, Time and Transitional Dynamics'. Routledge, London.
- Romer D. (2001): ‘Advanced Macroeconomics'. McGraw Hill, Boston.
- Sraffa P.(1960) ‘ Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities. Cambridge University Press.
- Thirwall A.P. (1989): ‘Growth and Development: with special reference to developing countries'. Palgrave, Macmillan, London.
Teaching methods
Transparencies and blackboard
Assessment methods
Written exam.
Teaching tools
Front lectures complemented by students' presentations and discussions.
A basic knowlege of undergraduate calculus and linear algebra is required.
Office hours
See the website of Massimo Ricottilli