Economic Development of China, India and/or Asia
Summer 2004

Economics 3355, Section 03059
or Economics 6355,Section 07867
Thomas R. DeGregori

Office: 209 M  4 to 6 PM MTWTh
Email: trdegreg@uh.edu

One has the option of registering for it in any of the summer sessions
since it is entirely a independent study course. The course will meet on
the first day indicated in the schedule for the class assignments.

THERE WILL BE NO EXAMS OR QUIZZES.

It is also available as a graduate course, Economics 6355.

Those who wish to sign up for the China Study Abroad Program (see Dr. Yali
Zou, FH 450, ext 34982) or for the India Study Abroad Program (see Dr.
Saleha Khumawala, MH 360A, ext 3-4829).

Required reading for all students (all the books are paperbacks except one):

Rhodes Murphy, A History of Asia, Addison, Wesley, Longman paperback.
Thomas R. DeGregori, The Environment, Our Natural Resources and Modern
Technology, Blackwell Professional paperback.
Thomas R. DeGregori  Origins of the Organic Agriculture Debate, Blackwell
Professional.
D. Bigman, ed. Globalization and the Developing Countries, Oxford
University Press paperback

All students must select a course focus and do the reading for it. These
books will be listed in the Bookstore as recommended to avoid the likely
confusion of students thinking that they are required to buy all of them.

1) China - Patricia Buckley Ebrey, The Cambridge Illustrated History of
China, Cambridge University Press.
Ross Garnaut & Yiping Huang, eds. Growth Without Miracles: Readings on The
Chinese Economy in the Era of Reform, Oxford University Press. or Robert E.
Gamer, Understanding Contemporary China (2nd edition): Lynne Rienner
Publishers

2) India - Stanley Wolpert, A New History of India, Oxford University.
Meera Nanda, Prophets Facing Backward, Rutgers University Press.

Recommended Reading or Substitutes for other Readings with prior permission
of instructor or Dr. Zou or Dr. Khumawala. For those going to China or
India, it is strongly recommended that you make use of these books on your
trip, possibly joining with others to buy them. For long plane trips,
reading can be useful.

Assignment:

You are to write four short papers of  (very) roughly 8 to 10 pages each.
You have considerable latitude as to the length of each
paper as long as the total for all four is about 30 to 40 pages. However,
you may combine papers and topics into larger papers or paper as long as
each topic is adequately covered.

The following topic is required:

1) Asian history and culture as basis for understanding Asian economies
today (paper may be solely on India or China). Or Asian Culture, Geography
& Politics to understand Asia economies today (paper may be solely on India
or China).

Other suggested topics are:
1) What is economic development?
2) Asian (or China or India) Economic Development since 1950.
3) Asian (or China or India) Economic Development since 1979.
4) Poverty and inequality in Asia and what can be done about it.
5) Major issues in Asian Development: IMF, Debt etc.
6) The Asian Development model: What is it and what is its future?
7) Economic Development of China
8) Economic Development of India
9) What role do women play in economic development?

In each of the above suggested topics, you may substitute East Asia or
China for Asia. In other words, you may take this as an Asian Economics
Course, an East Asian Economics Course or a China or India Economics Course
or Economic Geography. All study abroad students will do at least 2 of
their papers on China or India.

ALL PAPERS HAVE TO INCLUDE SUBSTANTIAL CITED MATERIAL FROM THE ASSIGNED
READINGS AND A SOURCE MUST BE IDENTIFIED FOR ALL MATERIAL PRESENTED. YOU
MAY USE OTHER RESEARCH MATERIAL AS WELL.

MY HOME PAGE (http://www.uh.edu/~trdegreg). PLEASE GIVE AS COMPLETE A
CITATION AS POSSIBLE INCLUDING THE URL. SEE POSTED SUPPLEMENTARY
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MORE DETAILS.

I am enforcing these rules more firmly than in previous offerings. It is
strongly recommended that you make extensive use of the assigned material
throughout each paper. I have returned papers or given Cs & Ds because they
did not follow the basic requirements and will do so whenever necessary.