Poverty, Microfinance and Development

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

170 hours

Students who enrol in this subject must be enrolled in a Masters by Coursework degree.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Development studies as an academic discipline has its origins in President Harry Truman's concept of a 'fair deal' for the entire world. In his inaugural address on January 20, 1949, he stated that Third World poverty, "is a handicap and a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas. For the first time in history humanity possesses the knowledge and the skill to relieve the suffering of these people.... I believe that we should make available to peace-loving peoples the benefits of our store of technical knowledge in order to help them realize their aspirations for a better life..... What we envisage is a program of development based on the concepts of democratic fair dealing"...

This subject aims to provide students with a solid grounding in one of the fundamental concerns of development and will explore the concepts and theories regarding cultural, political, economic and social aspects of poverty to critically engage in current debates on poverty, microfinance and development issues. The focus will be on developing countries. The subject will also extensively engage students into various theoretical debates, teaching of practical skills and techniques regarding Micro Finance and Small Business Entrepreneurship, which are widely promoted and used by the institutional financial institutions (such as the IMF and World Bank) and donor countries to alleviate poverty in less developed countries today.

On completion of this subject students should:

• have a solid grounding in one of the fundamental concerns of development;
• be able to explore the concepts and theories regarding cultural, political, economic and social aspects of poverty to critically engage in current debates on poverty, microfinance and development issues;
• be able to engage in various theoretical debates, teaching of practical skills and techniques regarding Micro Finance and Small Business Entrepreneurship and donor countries to alleviate poverty in less developed countries today.

• Case Study Report of 1,500 words (40%) due mid- semester.
• Major Essay of 3,500 words (60%) due during the examination period.

Hurdle requirement: Students must attend a minimum of 80% of classes in order to pass this subject. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

A subject reader will be available at the start of semester.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who complete this subject will acquire:

• advanced understanding of the main theories, concepts and debates about poverty from cross disciplinary development perspective;
• critical analysis;
• applied research skills;
• ability to write reports;
• the ability to make oral presentations;
• skills in working independently and being members of a team.