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Development Economics

Macro-Development: Concepts, Facts and Tools

Advanced macroeconomic tools for analyzing economic development and policy impact.

17.5h (5 days)

€775 - €1,375

Face-to-face

English

Program date: July 14 - 18, 2025

Early bird deadline: April 15, 2025

Learn more

Macro-Development: Concepts, Facts and Tools

Applications for 2025 Summer School programs are now open!

Summer school

Development Economics

Macro-Development: Concepts, Facts and Tools

Course Overview

Modern macroeconomic tools are powerful when investigating the causes and consequences of income per-capita differences across countries and over time. The ability of standard macroeconomic models to accommodate sectors and firms, as well as flexible preferences, technologies, and economic distortions, has provided macroeconomists with rich frameworks to understand complex development processes and analyze the aggregate effects of government policies.

This course will provide students with a comprehensive, though deep, understanding of the state-of-the-art macroeconomic techniques to think about economic development. The course will also characterize the main stylized facts in macro development, placing emphasis on the availability of new datasets and main measurement challenges.

The tools learned in class will be applied to specific contexts, providing useful insights to understand particular development episodes and compute alternative policy counterfactuals.

The course targets researchers and professionals interested in broadening their toolbox to analyze the process of economic development, as well as graduate students aiming to position themselves in the frontier of macro-development research.

Faculty

Interested in broadening your toolbox to analyze the process of economic development?

This course would suit individuals with the following background:

Researchers and professionals aiming to deepen their knowledge of the subject
Graduate students aiming to position themselves in the frontier of macro-development research

Understand state-of-the-art Macroeconomic Tools to understand complex development processes

Upon completion of the course, participants will:

Understand how standard macroeconomic models incorporate sectors, firms, preferences, technologies, and economic distortions
Explore the aggregate effects of government policies on economic development using advanced macroeconomic techniques
Characterize key stylized facts in macroeconomic development, emphasizing new datasets and measurement challenges
Apply macroeconomic tools to real-world contexts, offering insights into specific development episodes and enabling the computation of policy counterfactuals

Program Syllabus for Macro-Development: Concepts, Facts and Tools

Here is an outline of the topics that will be discussed during the course.

Introduction to Economic Development, National Accounts, and Growth Theory Brush- up

National Accounts: concepts and definitions
Main available datasets
One sector Neoclassical growth model
Cross-Country Income differences: Growth Accounting

Putting the One-sector Neoclassical Growth Model to Work: What Factors Determine Growth?

Application to the Neoclassical growth model to particular development episodes
Solving the Neoclassical growth model along the transition: shooting algorithms
Using the framework to evaluate policy counterfactuals

The Multi-sector Neoclassical Growth Model: Agriculture, Industry, and Services

Structural transformation: Stylized facts and relevant concepts
Main drivers of structural transformation: Applications to particular development episodes
Different structural transformation across countries (e.g., how is Africa different from East Asia?)

The Role of Firms in Economic Development

Basic framework to think about misallocation of resources across firms
Using the framework to decompose productivity growth over time
Using the framework to calculate the effects of specific government policies

The Theory and Empirics of Input-output Tables: Relevance and Applications

Basic framework with input-output tables
Measurement: Input-output tables across countries
The roles of input-output linkages in the transmission of government policies

List of References

The following texts will help you prepare for the course:

Articles and Books

Acemoglu, D., and V. Guerrieri (2008): “Capital Deepening and Non-Balanced Eco- nomic Growth,” Journal of Political Economy, 116(3), 467–498.
Adamopoulos, T., and D. Restuccia (2014): “The Size Distribution of Farms and International Productivity Differences,” American Economic Review, 104(6), 1667– 1697.
Card, D., and J. E. DiNardo (2002): “Skill-Biased Technological Change and Rising Wage Inequality: Some Problems and Puzzles,” Journal of Labor Economics, 20(4), 733–783.
Caselli, F., and J. Feyrer (2007): “The Marginal Product of Capital,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 535–568.
Caselli, F., and W. J. C. II (2006): “The World Technology Frontier,” American Economic Review, 96(3), 499–522.
Greenwood, J., Z. Hercowitz, and P. Krusell (1997): “Long-Run Implications of Investment-Specific Technological Change,” American Economic Review, 87(3), 342–362.
Greenwood, J., and P. Krusell (2006): “Growth accounting with investment-specific technological progress: A discussion of two approaches,” Journal of Monetary Economics, 54, 1300–1310.
Hall, R., and C. I. Jones (1999): “Why Do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output per Worker than Others?” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114, 83–116.
Hsieh, C.-T., and P. J. Klenow (2007): “Relative Prices and Relative Prosperity,” American Economic Review, 97(3), 562–585.
Jones, C. I. (1994): “Economic Growth and the relative price of capital,” Journal of Monetary Economics, 34, 359–382.
Karabarbounis, L., and B. Neiman (2014): “The Global Decline of the Labor Share,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, pp. 61–103.
King, R. G., and S. T. Rebelo (1993): “Transitional Dynamics and Economic Growth in the Neoclassical Model,” American Economic Review, 83(4), 908– 931.
Krusell, P., L. E. Ohanian, J.-V. R ́ıos-Rull, and G. L. Violante (2000): “Capital-Skill Complementarity and Inequality: A Macroeconomic Analysis,” Econometrica, 68(5), 1029–1053.
Mankiw, N. (2010): Macroeconomics, 7th Edition. Worth Publishers, The Intermediate Level Textbook Also available as Macroeconomics and the Financial System, with Laurence Ball.
Mankiw, N. G., D. Romer, and D. N. Weil (1992): “A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 408–437.
Ngai, L. R., and C. A. Pissarides (2007): “Structural Change in a Multisector Model of Growth,” American Economic Review, 97(1), 429–443.
Ngai, R., and R. M. Samaniego (2009): “Mapping prices into productivity in multi-sector growth models,” Journal of Economic Growth, 14, 183–204.
Piyabha Kongsamut, S. R., and D. Xie (2001): “Beyond Balanced Growth,” Review of Economic Studies, 68(4), 869–882.

Software / Hardware

Practical sessions will require students to bring their own computer to classes

Why join our Summer School?

All BSE Summer courses are taught to the same high standard as our Master’s programs. Join us to:

1

Network with like-minded peers

2

Study in vibrant Barcelona.

3

Learn from world-renowned faculty

Admissions and Requirements

Participants to BSE Summer School must check they are eligible to apply.

Program date: July 14 - 18, 2025

Early bird deadline: April 15, 2025

Requirements

Summer School applicants normally demonstrate one or more of the following:

A strong background in Economics or a field closely related to the course topic (Statistics, Law, etc.)
Postgraduate degree or current Master’s/PhD studies related to the course topic
Relevant professional experience

Requirements for Macro-Development: Concepts, Facts and Tools

Students are expected to have basic skills in economics, statistics, and computation coding

Schedule

Here is your schedule for this edition of BSE Macro-Development: Concepts, Facts and Tools course.

Time

14

mon

15

tue

16

wed

17

thu

18

fri

09:00 - 11:00

Lecture

14:30 - 16:00

Practical

Credit Transfers (ECTS)

To be eligible for credit transfer, students must complete a final project.

Students must submit a short research proposal one week after the summer school ends. The proposal should be 3-4 pages, 1.5 spaced, font size 11, and include:

A clear research question
Motivation, including the question’s policy relevance
A discussion of existing literature and how your paper relates

An explanation of your approach, detailing the empirical strategy and/or theoretical model. For more details please refer to the Summer School Admissions page.

Certificate of Attendance

Participants who attend more than 80% of the course will receive a Certificate of Attendance, free of charge.

Fees

Multiple course discounts are available, see more information about available discounts. Fees for courses in other Summer School programs may vary.

Course

Geospatial Tools for Development: Data and Inference

Complex Network Analysis: Tools for Economic Development

Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) in Development Economics

Macro-Development: Concepts, Facts and Tools

Regression Discontinuity Designs in Development Economics: Theory and Practice

Modality

Online

Face-to-face

Total Hours

17.5

ECTS

1

Regular Fee

1,000€

1,375€

Reduced Fee*

600€

775€

*Reduced Fee applies for PhD or Master’s students, Alumni of BSE Master’s programs, and participants who are unemployed.

FAQ

Need more information? Check out our FAQ section or contact our Admissions Team.

Can I see the full Summer School calendar?

You can view the full Summer School calendar here.

Is accommodation included in the course fee?

Accommodation is not included in the course fee. Participants are responsible for finding accommodation.

Are the sessions recorded?

Sessions will NOT be recorded; however, the materials provided by the professor will be available for a month after the course has finished.

How much does each Summer School course cost?

Fees for each course may vary. Please consult each course page for accurate information.

Are there any discounts available?

Yes, BSE offers a variety of discounts on its Summer School courses. See more information about available discounts or request a personalized discount quote by email.