Handbook

This unit seeks to answer the question, ‘what drives sustainable economic prosperity?’ In answer, the unit begins with prominent economic theorising around channels of economic prosperity, including the role of technology, specialisation, capital accumulation, coordination and complexity. Next, we look at where prosperity has chronically failed to arrive, critically examining the successes and failures of major interventions that were aimed at alleviating poverty. Finally, we turn our attention to the complexity of human economic prosperity on a finite planet through the lens of the Anthropocene. Overall, the unit takes a complex systems and sustainability mindset to these topics and seeks to equip students with deep critical thinking frameworks to comprehend complexity and understand key linkages in the pursuit of sustainable prosperity for all.