Flagship course · Economics and policy
Understanding Development: An Economics Perspective
Understand why some economies prosper while others stagnate, and what the evidence says about poverty and growth in South Asia.
Start module 1What you will be able to do
- Explain poverty traps, coordination failures and structural transformation with the models behind them.
- Evaluate what works and why, with methods from quasi-experimental designs to RCTs.
- Apply the theory and the evidence to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the wider region.
About this course
Theory, Evidence & Policy
A course on poverty, growth, and economic transformation in developing nations, with deep focus on South Asia and rigorous academic foundations built on Debraj Ray, Amartya Sen, and Nobel Prize-winning research.
- 50+ Academic Papers
- South Asia Focus
- Research-Backed
Why study development economics?
More than 800 million people live in extreme poverty. Understanding why some nations prosper while others stagnate is one of the most important questions in social science, and the foundation for effective development practice, including sound monitoring and evaluation.
Development economics differs from standard economics in important ways: markets often fail, information is asymmetric, institutions are weak, and history matters profoundly. The same policy that works in Sweden may backfire in Bangladesh.
Evidence-based practice
Move beyond intuition to rigorous evidence. Learn to evaluate what works, what doesn't, and why, using the same methods Nobel laureates use, from quasi-experimental designs to RCTs.
Theoretical foundations
Understand the models that explain poverty traps, coordination failures, and structural transformation: essential for designing effective interventions.
South Asian context
Deep focus on India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the region, where about a third of the world's multidimensionally poor people live and where your work will have maximum impact.
"Development is about transforming the lives of people, not just transforming economies." : Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics
Assess yourself: development economics
Six auto-graded questions on the core ideas of the course. Pick an answer and check it; each explains the reasoning. Nothing is stored and there's no sign-in.
Practice the material and continue learning
Every flagship course is part of a wider open-source learning network. The cards below cross-link this course with hands-on labs, AI study companions, the 101 Series, book summaries, reference handouts, live dojos, and Pro Studio tools.
No course-specific lab yet. Browse all 35 ImpactMojo Labs:
Ask the deck questions, get topic summaries, and generate study aids in your own pace.
Free 100-slide foundational primers that pair well with this flagship:
BookCompanion summaries that complement this flagship:
84 print-optimised handouts across 10 tracks: methods, ethics, frameworks, lexicons, quick-reference cards.
56 bi-weekly dojo sessions in the South Asian dev-practitioner cohort: case clinics, paper discussions, live Q&A.
11 Pro Studio tools plus 1:1 coaching, cohort access, and certificates. Coaching is offered on a sliding scale.