Eco­nom­ic Growth and De­cline of Firms, In­dus­tries and Na­tions

Course content

The aim of this course is to understand the drivers of economic growth and decline at three different levels: firms, industries and nations. In addition, the students should relate the economic models to the theories and findings of other fields, such as political science, business, and international relations. We will try to answer questions of the type: “Why are some countries rich and other poor?”, “What is the role of human capital in the firms‘ production process?” “Are culture, geography, climate, and natural resources relevant for explaining firms‘ success in a global competition?” “Is income inequality harmful?”
 
The structure of the course could be divided into three parts. The first part of the course deals with the underlying factors of economic growth, i.e. capital accumulation, human capital and their complementarity and substitution in the production process. The second part will study the role played by productivity, technology and efficiency both at micro and at macro level. Finally, we are going to analyse the fundamentals behind economic growth, i.e. politics, culture, institutions, geography and climate change.  
 
 
Outline of the course:

1.  Economic Growth and decline: an introduction and stylized facts
2. Machines and Computers: the role of capital in firms
3. Labor and Human Capital
4. Productivity, Efficiency and Technological Change
5. Trade and Growth
6. The role of the Government
7. Income inequality and Social Conflicts
8.  Geography, Climate and Natural Resources
9. Industrial Revolutions and Institutions.