The course provides an analytical lens to evaluate contemporary development questions using theoretical and empirical insights. We will emphasize institutions and institutional change and how the choice of economic institutions influences development outcomes. In pursuing this exercise, we shall also emphasize the centrality of economic and political institutions and their origins. The development process is complex, with several forward and backward linkages with different spheres of society, such as culture and norms, environment, and globalization. The course brings some of these issues to the fore and furthers the understanding of the contemporary development course.