Entwicklungsforschung / IEE
About us
The Chair for Development Research focuses in research and teaching on the causes of growth in developing countries and emerging countries. In addition, the chair works theoretically and empirically on welfare-economics-based procedures for evaluating development programmes and projects. Finally, the Chair for Development Research is responsible for the scientific and administrative management of the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE) and the international cooperation projects based there, as well as for teaching in the IEE's Master's programme and PhD programme.
Team
Ann-Sophie Rinne, M.Sc.
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin, PhD Studentin
Tania De Giorgio
Employee in administration and technology
Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Löwenstein
Chair of the department, Professor, Managing Director of the IEE
Dipl.-Ök. Britta Niklas
Scientific assistant, Coordinator South African German Centre for Development Research
Henrike Roth, M.Sc. (on leave)
Research Fellow, PhD Student
Dr. Elkhan Richard Sadik-Zada
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Teaching
Information on:
Bachelor´s and Master´s Theses
Bachelor’s thesis
- If you are interested in writing your Bachelor’s thesis in the field of development economics, please send an email with your inquiry, research topics you are interested in and a current transcript of records to wilhelm.loewenstein@rub.de Please do that at least 4 months prior your start with your Bachelor’s thesis.
- There is one starting date for Bachelor’s theses per semester. During the winter term it is regularly in October, during the summer term it is in April. The specific starting date and the period of revision can be found here.
- The requirements for thesis supervision are the following:
– Successful completion of the module “Principles of Development Economics”.
– Free capacities for thesis supervision at the Chair for Development Research.
Besides these specific requirements, please consider the general requirements according to the examination regulations.
Master’s thesis
- The starting date for master’s theses is set by everyone individually in consultation with the Chair for Development Research.
- Please inquire for theses supervision with the Chair for Development Research 4 months in advance. To do so, please send an email to wilhelm.loewenstein@rub.de including a current transcript of records and suggestions for research topics in the field of development economics on which you would like to write your Master’s thesis.
- The requirements for thesis supervision are the following:
– Successful completion of at least one of the two modules “Growth and Development Economics” and “Cost-Benefit Analysis”.
– Free capacities for thesis supervision at the Chair for Development Research.
Besides these specific requirements, please consider the general requirements according to the examination regulations
Transfer of Credits
If you need recognition of academic performances which have a focus on development economics completed at a foreign university, please consider the following instructions before and after your stay abroad:
Before departure
To make sure that the courses you plan to take abroad can be recognized after your return, please provide us with the following information about these courses before your stay abroad:
- A module description;
- Number of ECTS-points;
- Number of contact hours per week;
- Information about the examination modalities;
- Information about the literature used in the courses;
- Name and level of study (Bachelor/Master) the course you will take has at your host university.
If this information is not available in either German or English, we need a certified translation. Please note that Bachelor’s courses cannot be recognized for Master students.
After your return
To complete the recognition process, please provide us with the following documents:
- The form for credit transfer provided by the Examination Office, filled out with all the necessary information.
- Official transcript of your host university that indicates the grade and ECTS of the module that you want to have recognized.
Contact person regarding the recognitions of academic performances completed abroad is wilhelm.loewenstein@rub.de
Principles of Development Economics (B.Sc)
Lecture:
The lecture will take place in-person in HZO 40, 12-14h, from Monday, 10 October 2022, onwards.
Cost-Benefit Analysis (M.Sc.)
The maximum number of course participants is set to 30. Enrollment (full name and matriculation number) takes place via email (ieeadmin@ruhr-uni-bochum.de) in the period 19.09.22-28.09.22. Students will be selected randomly in case we have more than 30 applicants. The selection result will be communicated via email on 30.09.22 until noon. This email will further contain information on the access code for self-inscription in moodle.
Mondays, 16-18h Uni-Str. 105, EG 0/14 Start: 10.10.2022
Economics of Natural Resources (M.Sc.)
This course will not be offered in the winter semester 2022/23.
Mathematical Bioeconomics and Epidemics (M.Sc.)
This course will not be offered in the winter semester 2022/23.
Master at the IEE: Development Management
Since mid-2000, the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy has been offering an international English-language Master’s program in Development Management at the Ruhr University Bochum. Since May 2002, the program has also been offered at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa; originally as part of the DAAD initiative “German Programmes of Study Abroad” and now as part of the DAAD-funded “South African – German Centre for Development Research”. The duration of each program cycle is three semesters (18 months). Each year, up to 25 students are accepted in Bochum and up to 20 students in Cape Town.
PhD at the IEE: International Development Studies
Since 2007, the IEE offers the 3-year structured, English-language, interdisciplinary and international PhD program “International Development Studies” (PhD IDS). Integral components of this program are a doctoral curriculum and a field research period. The Faculty of Geosciences, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Economics of the RUB are involved.
The duration of each program cycle is three years, including a research stay of up to six months. Participants can choose from a variety of tailored teaching modules while working on their own research projects. Each research project is assigned a supervisor. All supervisors of the PhD students hold a professorship at the participating faculties. PhD students are offered the opportunity to present and discuss their individual research projects on a regular basis at meetings of the IEE’s three research clusters, which are attended by all PhD students as well as supervisors and other IEE staff.
Candidates with an above-average university degree in law, social or political sciences, economics, development management or related subjects from all over the world, who wish to further their academic qualification through a research project in the field of “International Development Studies” and become a member of an international and interdisciplinary research group, are invited to apply for a place in our PhD program.
Teaching offers
Lorem Ipsum
Principles of Development Economics (B.Sc.)
Vorlesung und Übung
3 contact hours
WiSe
A change in the provision with public goods affects the well-being of people. Under which circumstances can these changes be measured in monetary terms? Which methods from the CBAtoolbox are available to capture the damages of an oil spill, the advantages of nature conservation, the effects of the construction of a dam, or the impact of being protected from natural hazard? These and related questions will be discussed within the module. In a lecture (first half of the semester), students are introduced to the theoretical concepts of CBA. The knowledge gained in the lecture will be assessed in a Mid-term exam. Students then apply the CBA approaches by writing a seminar paper based on literature and real-world case studies (second half of the semester).
Cost-Benefit Analysis (M.Sc.)
Lecture and Seminar
3 contact hours
WS
The goal of the course is to familiarize students with the analytical models used to
bioeconomic and epidemiological problems, and to develop an independent application of these models for economically meaningful decision making.
Mathematical Bioeconomics and Epidemics (M.Sc.)
Seminar
1 contact hours
SS, WS
The lecture delves into the underlying principles of the economics of the natural resources. After gaining an overview of the taxonomy of the natural resources, the students will be made familiar with the basics of the optimal control theory. The lecture contemplates both normative and positive economics of the nonrenewable natural resources such as fossil fuels and non-fuel minerals and renewable natural resources such as fisheries and renewable energy sources. To illustrate the relevance of the individual lecture blocks for the planning and management in the context of the sustainable resource management and environmental policies, each lecture ends
with a discussion of a pertinent case study.
Economics of Natural Resources (M.Sc.)
Lecture
1 contact hours
SS, WS
Models of the Post-Keynesian Growth Theory (Harrod/Domar Model and Two-Gaps Model) and the neoclassical growth model are discussed in detail. In particular, the determinants “savings” and “population growth” are critically assessed as well as the interdependency of growth and capital imports and foreign trade, respectively. Another focus is set on the analysis of “technological progress” as growth determinant. Subsequent to the theoretical models, problem oriented topics are covered, concentrating on development financing, trade, financial crisis,
human capital accumulation, HIV/AIDS and technological progress in developing countries.
Growth and Development Economics (M.Sc.)
Lecture and Tutorial
4 contact hours
SS
Research
Research projects
Collaborative Project
EJD-MSCA ADAPTED
Single Project
Energy and Climate Policies
Single Project
Growth Modelling and Empirical Testing
Collaborative Project
UrbanFoodPlus
Publications
Prices of Fairtrade Wine. with robin Back, Karl Storchmann and Nick Vink. Forthcoming in Journal of Wine Economics, 16(2).
Pricing Models for German Wine: Hedonic Regression vs. Machine Learning. Forthcoming in Journal of Wine Economics, 16.
(2021) with Wolfram Rinke: Pricing Models for German Wine: Hedonic Regression vs. Machine Learning. Forthcoming in Journal of Wine Economics, 16.
Prices of Fairtrade Wine. with robin Back, Karl Storchmann and Nick Vink. Forthcoming in Journal of Wine Economics, 16(2).
Pricing Models for German Wine: Hedonic Regression vs. Machine Learning. Forthcoming in Journal of Wine Economics, 16.
(2021) with Wolfram Rinke: Pricing Models for German Wine: Hedonic Regression vs. Machine Learning. Forthcoming in Journal of Wine Economics, 16.
Entwicklungsforschung / IEE
Institute of Development Research and Development Policy
Ruhr University Bochum
Room 2.04
Universitaetsstr. 105
D-44789 Bochum
Phone:
The chair belongs to the competence field: