BASIC COMPETENCES CB1 Be able to show that they possess and comprehend facts and contents in an area of study which, based on a previous general secondary school level, have been extended to those included in advanced textbooks and in some aspects proceed from the most advanced studies in this area. CB2 ¿Be able to show that they have learned how to apply their knowledge professionally to their future jobs or tasks and that they possess the competences needed to develop and defend arguments and solve problems in that area of study. CB3 ¿ Be able to show that they are capable of collecting and interpreting the relevant data (normally within their area of study) needed for formulating judgments which require critical thought on social, scientific and ethical topics of relevance. CB4 ¿ Be able to show that they are able to transmit information, ideas, problems and solutions both to specialized and non-specialized publics. CB5 ¿ Be able to show that they have developed the learning skills required to perform further studies with a high degree of self-dependence. GENERAL COMPETENCES CG1 ¿ Understand social, political, legal and economic realities from a comparative perspective. CG2 ¿ Be able to approximate and analyze the intrinsic values contained in equal opportunities, multi-cultural society, political ideological and cultural pluralism, human rights, and the international community. CG3 ¿ Know quantitative and qualitative research techniques and possess the ability to choose which is most adequate to apply in the field of Social Sciences. CG4 ¿ Be able to manage information: identify, organize and analyze relevant information critically and systematically within the context of international relations. CG6 ¿ Be able to apply scientific method to the economic, social and political questions of a global society; be able to formulate problems in this context, identify a possible explication or solution, and a method to contrast them by sensibly interpreting the data. OVERLAPPING COMPETENCES CT1 ¿ Acquire the capacity to communicate knowledge in oral and written form, both to specialized and to non-specialized publics. CT2 ¿ Acquire the capacity to establish good interpersonal communication and to work both in interdisciplinary and international teams. CT3 ¿ Acquire the capacity to organize and plan workloads, taking correct decisions based on the available information, collecting and interpreting relevant data in order to provide assessments in that area of study. CT4 ¿ Develop the motivation and capacity to perform independent continuous learning for life, with an endowment to adapt to change and new situations. SPECIFIC COMPETENCES CE1 ¿ Be familiar with the principal political and social theories. Be capable of analyzing and comparing contemporary policies. CE2 ¿ Be familiar with and understand the processes of political, social, economic and cultural change in society and contemporary policy. CE6 ¿ Understand the socio-political impact of empires, religions and cultures in historical perspective. CE7 ¿ Understand the main dynamics which generate inequality and its consequences, and comprehend the principles on which equal opportunity policies are based. CE9 ¿ Be familiar with and comprehend the relevance of technological change for economic and social development. CE10 ¿ Be able to discern the differentiating elements in international problems in accordance to the development stages of a country. CE11 ¿ Be able to critically relate present and past events and processes. CE12 ¿ Be able to formulate and solve basic economic, social, political problems in an international context. CE16 ¿ Be able to carry out case studies and apply comparative method to analyze institutions, processes and policies in different countries. LEARNING OUTCOMES · Critical capacity in formulating concepts in the social sciences for the analytical classification of societies, economies and political systems. · Applied knowledge in order to analyze path dependencies as well as historical and cultural contexts, in economic and social development. · Ability to compare experiences of individual countries worldwide. · Ability to understand and analyze institutional and social barriers to sustainable development in economies with upper-middle and lower-middle income.

Concept and alternative definitions and related measures. Transitions of developing country to emerging country and on to developed countries. Emerging countries in the world economy, economic specialization, foreign investment, economic policy, and migration. State and political institutions in emerging countries: political regimes, representative institutions, politicization of bureaucracy and legal systems, recruitment of political elites. political (in)stability and governability. Challenges of emerging countries: political economy and sustainable development in middle-income countries; development, growth, increased economic inequalities at the individual, regional and rural-urban level, and policies to manage it. The formation and consolidation of middle classes and their economic, social and political implications. Growth and environmental challenges on a regional, national and international level. Economic development and political systems and institutions.

Lectures: In the lectures we will discuss the readings and the critical evidence needed to test the main theories. Reduced lectures: Each week we will have presentations, debates based on the readings and discussions of the essays. Students will have to participate actively in class.