Latin American Economic Development
Historico-institutional analysis of development problems in principal Latin American countries, focusing on national growth patterns and alternative development strategies.
Summary
Past student reviews · Bradford Barham
Students reported many readings, short papers, and a semester-long group project requiring outside coordination; they found the load manageable and grading fair.
What you’ll be able to do
Demonstrate mastery of the language of international development economics
Develop proficiency in an array of concepts from primary product exports to conditional cash transfers to migration and remittances to corruption and civil conflict.
Examine how markets and distinct development strategies and processes provide different opportunities and returns for the rich and the poor, urban and rural, latino and indigenous peoples, large and small countries, and so on.
Explain the strengths and weaknesses of contending theories of economic development.
Apply contending theories to markets, state policies, social initiatives, and historical experiences in Latin American countries.
Source: UW Guide 1· UW Guide 2· UW Guide 3
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapProfessors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
BRADFORD BARHAM is recorded teaching in Fall 2010, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
LAURA ANNE SCHECHTER is recorded teaching in Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
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Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
No records available.
Student experience
the class
Past student reviews · Bradford Barham
Past students described the class as applied, with little math or theory, and enjoyed Bradford Barham’s passionate teaching.
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2020: 3.76 GPA, 87.5% A/AB (n=40 letter grades); Fall 2021: 3.75 GPA, 86.2% A/AB (n=58 letter grades); Spring 2023: 2.92 GPA, 42.3% A/AB (n=26 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Past student reviews · Bradford Barham
Students reported many readings, short papers, and a semester-long group project requiring outside coordination; they found the load manageable and grading fair.
Past student reviews · Bradford Barham
Students valued Bradford Barham’s availability and constructive paper feedback, though one found the group work unpleasant.
Topics
- Development problems in principal Latin American countries
- Differentiation of national growth patterns
- Alternative development strategies
- Primary product exports, conditional cash transfers, migration, remittances, corruption, and civil conflict
- Opportunities and returns for different groups including rich/poor, urban/rural, Latino/indigenous, and large/small countries
Skills
- Mastery of the language of international development economics
- Proficiency in concepts including primary product exports, conditional cash transfers, migration, remittances, corruption, and civil conflict
- Explaining the strengths and weaknesses of contending theories of economic development
- Applying development theories to markets, state policies, social initiatives, and historical experiences in Latin America
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2023— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Spring 2023
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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"requirements_status": "needs_review",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
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