Targeting the Poor: Local Economic Development in Developing Countries
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this graduate-level course on public-sector strategies for boosting employment and economic opportunity in developing countries. It examines local economic development policies, programs, and projects, comparing initiatives that succeed against those that fail and asking why. Topics include the roles of support and regulation in shaping equitable outcomes, the institutional environments that make targeted poverty interventions work, and the practical tasks involved in designing and implementing local development schemes. Materials include the syllabus, readings, and assignments used in the MIT class, free to access through OpenCourseWare. There are no video lectures, but the course provides a full set of study materials for anyone working through urban planning and development economics on their own. No certificate is offered, consistent with MIT OCW's self-study model.