CONCENTRATION AREA

Economy and Development

The area of concentration Economics and Development aspires to reflect on Economic Theory and Economic Development. It includes reflections and studies on different and plural theoretical approaches in the fields of Macroeconomics, Monetary and Financial Economics, Political Economy, Economic Policy and Economic Development, in addition to their applications for understanding relevant topics for economic sciences such as: growth, technological progress , funding patterns, inequalities, public policies, natural resources and the environment, among others. In the field of Economic Theory, the area of concentration includes theoretical studies that, in the most diverse fields and with the most varied approaches, seek to explain the functioning of capitalist economies in an aggregated or sectoral way in their various geographical areas, and empirical studies that employ fundamentals of economic theory and quantitative methods to approach the most varied research problems of economic sciences such as: economic efficiency, public sector economics, agricultural economics, environmental economics, labor economics, social economics and evaluation of public policies. As for the field of economic development and underdevelopment, these are thought and analyzed from the theoretical-analytical instrumental framework of political economy, with special focus on the comparative examination of different experiences, in a hierarchical and unequal international system. The focus on issues concerning economic development both in its theoretical and historical-concrete dimensions gives rise to the mobilization of different analytical scales, contemplating, on the one hand, the local, regional, national and international spheres, and, on the other, interdisciplinarity, considering together with economic relations, social relations, geopolitics, institutions, the State, and public policies.

RESEARCH LINES

Line I: Economic Development and Regional Development

The line of research in Economic Development and Regional Development encompasses two major research topics. The first of them, Economic Development, deals with the analysis of historical influences and structural constraints on development; of the different theories and interpretations of the problem of development, in its economic, social, political, institutional and historical dimensions; and the study of comparative development experiences from a critical perspective. This line includes research in the areas of Economic History, History of Economic Thought, Theories of Economic Development, Comparative Experiences in Economic Development, Institutions, Public Policies, Social Economy, Inequalities and Development Financing. The second topic, Regional Development, focuses its investigations on socioeconomic problems, contemplating the regional, urban, territorial, or spatial dimensions, through various combinations of analytical and empirical research methods. This line includes research that focuses on alternative approaches to regional, urban and rural development processes, considering historical and theoretical aspects, as well as their temporal and spatial expression. Applied Economics aims to develop empirical studies that employ fundamentals of economic theory and quantitative methods to address the most varied research problems in the following areas: Economic Efficiency, Monetary Economics, Public Sector Economics, Growth
and Economic Development, Regional and Urban Economics, Agricultural Economics, Environmental Economics, Labor Economics, Social Economy and Evaluation of Public Policies.

Line II: Applied Economics

Applied Economics aims to develop empirical studies that employ fundamentals of economic theory and quantitative methods to address the most varied research problems in the following areas: Economic Efficiency, Monetary Economics, Public Sector Economics, Economic Growth and Development, Regional and Urban Economics, Agricultural Economics, Environmental Economics, Labor Economics, Social Economy and Evaluation of Public Policies.

Line III: Political Economy

The Political Economy line of research has as its object the investigation and reflection on the articulations between the dynamics of capital accumulation and power relations, taking into account the different vectors of tension that structure these processes, namely, the contradictions between the social classes, inter-capitalist competition in the world market and economic and geopolitical competition between national states.

Line IV: Economic Theory

The Economic Theory research line incorporates research and works involving a research object of a theoretical nature, belonging to the field of Macroeconomics, Microeconomics or other fields of Economic Theory, in any geographic area. It thus performs theoretical and interpretative analyzes of the economic dynamics of economic agents or a set of agents, using the assumptions of any of the strands of economic thought.