| Module Identifier |
RS14320 |
| Module Title |
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE RURAL ECONOMY |
| Academic Year |
2002/2003 |
| Co-ordinator |
Professor Peter R Midmore |
| Semester |
Semester 2 |
| Course delivery |
Practical | 9 Hours 3 x 3 hours |
| |
Lecture | 33 Hours 11 x 2 hour and 11 x 1 hour lectures |
| |
Seminars / Tutorials | 6 Hours |
| Assessment |
Semester Exam | 2 Hours Outcomes assessed: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | 70% |
| |
Semester Assessment | 1500 word essay Outcomes assessed: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 30% |
| |
Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Outcomes assessed: All | 100% |
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. describe and apply basic principles of economics to rural issues;
2. relate economic behaviour at the household and rural firm level to aggregate changes in the countryside;
3. discuss the principles of business accounts and appraisal;
4. explain linkages between the overall economy and prospects for agriculture and other rural industries;
5. evaluate the arguments for and against agricultural trade liberalisation.
6. describe the framework of rural policy in the United Kingdom and Western Europe;
7. describe government policies relating to agriculture, conservation and the rural economy, at present and in the recent past;
8. assess the effectiveness of interventions by governments and their agencies in achieving their objective and targets.
Aims
This module will consider the economic principles that underlie government intervention in agricultural, rural and regional policy. The development of an understanding of the fundamental economic relationships will enable opportunities and problems for rural areas to be discussed and appropriate policy responses to be identified. Lecture material will include:
-
economic development and structural change;
-
land as a resource;
-
the demand for food and characteristics of consumer behaviour, including price and income elasticity of demand for food; conservation and public goods in the rural environment;
-
principles of accounts and business appraisal;
-
agriculture and the macroeconomy;
-
the theory of comparative advantage and the balance of agricultural trade;
-
green monetary issues;
-
the Uruguay round of the GATT, the World Trade Organisation;
-
agricultural trade liberalisation and the environment.
Transferable skills
.1 Independent project work
Students will independently research and prepare a written essay as part of the coursework assessment of this module.
.3 Use and analysis of numerical information
Some economic principles require numerical approaches, and examples and short answer examination questions will require evidence of the development of these skills.
.4 Writing in an academic context
As (1) above.
.5 Oral discussion and presentation
The course includes 6 one-hour tutorials in which students are encouraged to discuss current issues in the economics of the countryside and related rural issues.
7 Self-management
The coursework and examination requirements of this module require, alongside other requirements, the development of time-management and work organisation skills.
Reading Lists
Books
Brassley P. (1997)
Agricuiltural economics and the CAP: an introduction. Blackwell Science
Hardin R. (1997)
One semester economics. Blackwell
Hill B. (1990)
An introduction to economics for students of agriculture. 2nd. Pergamon
Hill B E and Ingersent K A. (1982)
An economic analysis of agriculture. 2nd. Heinemann Educational Books
Midmore P and Hughes G O. (1996)
Rural Wales: an economic and social perspective. Welsh Institute of Rural Studies
Organisation fo Economic Co-operation and Development. (1992)
Business and jobs in the rural world. OECD
Penson J B, Capps O and Parr C P. (1996)
Introduction to agricultural economics. Prentice Hall
Ritson, C. (1977)
Agricultural economics: principles and policy. Crosby Lockwood Staples
Strak J. (1989)
Rural pluriactivity in the UK. NEDC
Tracy M. (1989)
Government and agriculture in western Europe 1880 - 1988. 3rd. Harvester Wheatsheaf
Tracy M. (1993)
Food and agriculture in a market economy. Belgium: Agricultural Policy Studies