Undergraduate Course: Growth and Productivity Analysis (VETS10045)
Course Outline
| School | Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies |
College | College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course will provide an applied understanding of how to measure growth. The focus will be applied to agricultural systems in both developing and developed contexts. |
| Course description |
Economic growth has long been considered fundamental to development. Agriculture contributes to a large part of the economy of developing countries but is also fundamental to understanding such debates as resource use and climate change. This course will provide a practical application of agricultural growth and productivity measurement. It will further examine the causes of growth and productivity. Taking basic principles and real world data the course has two parts. We will explore household survey data for the measurement of efficiency and then aggregated data to draw indexes of productivity growth. These measures will be unpacked using indicators, such as research spending and weather variability, to understand the effect on our productivity and efficiency measures. Some time will be spent critiquing growth and discussion of other frameworks which attempt to widen our understanding of progress. This is a practical applied course and time will be sent developing estimations in using R and R-studio. This will allow students to develop quantitative techniques and based around issues of measurement, data integrity, and the impact of technology and growth.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
0 %,
Practical Exam
50 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Individual presentation to the group (50%); Students will prepare a project based on a country of their choice, utilising appropriate data sources and highlighting past growth within the agricultural sector and issues pertinent to agricultural growth.
Practical Computer-based Exam (50%). Students will be given 24 hours to analyse data sets and report on findings against key questions. |
| Feedback |
Feedback will be supplied within 15 days of the submission deadline |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Practical Exam | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Organise economic survey data for analysis.
- Demonstrate how to create an index on secondary time series data.
- Estimate the impact of external factors on growth
|
Reading List
Suggested texts include:
Fuglie, K., Wang, S.L., Ball, E. (2012). Productivity Growth in Agriculture: An International Perspective.
CABI, Wallingford, UK
Isakkson et al. (2015). Productivity in developing countries: trends and policies. United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, Vienna 2005
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Planning, organising, time management, in planning and delivering the final essay.
Enquiry and lifelong learning through awareness and ability to understand and assess evolving datasets related to agricultural growth.
Aspiration and personal development, by offering applied quantitative skills for understanding and analysing trends in agricultural growth.
Written communication, ability to produce clear, structured written work that effectively explains information through the essay assignment. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Andrew Barnes
Tel:
Email: andrew.barnes@sruc.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Gordon Littlejohn
Tel: (0131 6)51 7454
Email: Gordon.Littlejohn@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage