Children standing in front of a ceramic plant in the Brazilian state of Maranhao. (Photograph courtesy of Monica Pinhanez.)
Course Highlights
This course features term paper assignments, along with exemplary papers by students in the
assignments section. The
readings section contains a full reading list, including articles by Professor Tendler.
Course Description
This course treats public-sector policies, programs, and projects that attempt to reduce poverty and unemployment in developing countries, mainly through directly income-generating activities and employment. Topics covered are:
- employment and local economic development, particularly as related to the informal sector, small and medium enterprises, and workers;
- the political economy of local economic-development initiatives;
- lessons from policy and implementation experiences;
- workers and labor issues; and
- associationalism among small (and often medium) firms, and among workers.