Tickets here [1].
This two-day course introduces participants to some of the main development challenges facing Muslim societies today. The first session explores the different conceptions of development and how these are measured. We will look at the available evidence to identify some of the development challenges facing Muslim-majority countries (MMCs). Participants will be able to share their own understanding of development and explore available datasets on development indicators to investigate the experiences of MMCs. The second session looks at the main approaches to development centered on two competing views of how resources should be allocated in society – through the free market and through government policies. This provides the basis in which to understand and critically examine development approaches and policies that emphasize the role of governments, the private sector, and civil society.
Prerequisites:
Participants should have some awareness of, or interest in, development issues; familiarity with Zoom tools; a good internet connection; and access to MS Teams. Participants will be expected to have completed all required readings prior to each session.
Session 1 (Fri 4 Dec): What is development?
Session 2 (Fri 11 Dec): Approaches to development: What role for governments, the private sector and NGOs?
Course Convenor
Dr. Jeff Tan is a political economist who works on the intersection of politics and economics, and how these shape policies and institutions and impact economic development. His research interests center on late industrialization and industrial policy, rent-seeking and corruption, urban infrastructure (including water and sanitation), entrepreneurship and Islamisation. He has published a book on privatization in Malaysia (Routledge 2008), and book chapters and journal articles on these areas. His current research is on community-based water management in northern Pakistan. Dr. Tan has taught courses in development studies, development economics, international political economy, and research methodologies, and has been a Fellow of Advanced Higher Education since 2014.