OAGE 2060 - Development and Public Policies: the case of Latin American markets

Economic policies and politics are highly interlinked, affecting markets’ behaviour and development outcomes. This is particularly evident in emerging economies, where

management of public policies or simply economic announcements have contributed to booms and busts in their capital markets. This course analyses the main channels in which Latin American economies can drive development and it studies the policy-making process (PMP) in these countries. The course makes a case study of Latin America, a prominent region in the arena of emerging capital markets and in which the PMP has been crucial.

Five key areas of work comprise this course. First, with a particular focus on Latin America, it studies the role of emerging economies in the world economy as well as the concepts of development and well-being. Second, it explores the role of monetary policy in development and the interlinkages between monetary decisions and capital markets’ behaviour. Third, it focuses on fiscal policy in emerging economies, in particular how Latin American countries are responding to the Covid-19 crisis. Fiscal policy is analysed through the interaction between fiscal revenues, expenditures, and public debt management. In particular, we analyse the connection between public debt and financial markets, a key dimension in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis. Fourth, the course addresses key dimensions that are most likely to affect development in Latin America, including inequalities, informality, poor productivity performance, highlighting the effect of global trends such as digitalization and climate change in the regional policy agenda. Finally, we study the effectiveness of current public policies and the political economy of reform in Latin American countries.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to

• Write policy briefs and policy research papers in topics related to development in emerging economies
• Develop in-depth knowledge on policy areas affecting development in Latin American economies
• Provide oral presentations with a critical analysis on socio-economic trends and public policies’ experiences
• Analyse data on emerging economies, with a particular emphasis in Latin American economies
• Identify and understand tools and concepts on the functioning of emerging financial markets

Professional Skills

Team work: Working with a group of other students to achieve an outcome in an effective manner.

Oral communication: Communicating effectively and adequately orally

Written communication: Communicating effectively and adequately in writing

Understanding stakeholders: Understanding and taking into account the priorities and concerns of others

Research & Analysis: Collecting and analysing information to increase understanding of a topic or issue

Creative thinking: Looking at problems or situations from an original perspective

Critical thinking: Engaging in reflective and independent thinking

Problem solving: Using generic or ad hoc methods in an orderly manner to find solutions

Data Management Implementing policies and procedures

Basic Finance: Understanding the functioning of financial emerging markets

Basic understanding of economics, statistics and data analysis. Interest in matters of finance business and political economy

Once per week. A virtual or in situ meeting will be jointly decided by email or just after each session. When there is no need to have a meeting, answers to students’ questions will be provided by email.

• Research paper produced with other two/three students (40% of the final grade)
• Individual oral presentation (20% of the final grade)
• 2 exams on the required readings (15% of the final grade)
• Individual blog on a topic affecting development in emerging economies, including Latin America (10% of the final grade)
• Country profile analysis (8% of the final grade)
• Participation (7% of the final grade)

In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester

Reading and Preparation for Class: 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester

Research and Preparation for Group Work: 3 hours a week / 35 hours a semester

Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 35 hours one week / 35 hours a semester

Oral presentation: 20 hours one week / 20 hours a semester