"Intergovernmental Excellence in Online Learning" | www.euclid.int | Responsive site at m.euclid.int
EUCLID seal  

 
 
 
  arrow EUCLID News and Events
  arrow Legal Status and Degree Authority
  arrow Available Degree Programs
  arrow Scholarship Programs
  arrow Register Now for a EUCLID Program
  arrow Admission and Enrollment Policies

 

 

Course Details with Online Syllabus:
ECO-640: World Bank Group and IMF

 
DETAILED COURSE INFORMATION WITH SYLLABUS | ONLY FOR ARCHIVE PURPOSES (LEGACY STATUS SINCE 2015)
Course Code ECO-640
Course Name World Bank Group and IMF
EUCLID Image
US Credits (USCH) 2
ECTS 2 x 1.5 - 1.7 (see Academic Standards)
Main Prerequisite None
Regular Instructor / Assigned Faculty (responsible for student interaction, validation and grading of student assignments, constructive feedback, oral examinations)

Joao Tavares

Note: see biography under Faculty Profiles

Faculty Coordinator (responsible for entry and exit coordination and interfacing between student and instructor(s))

Laurent Cleenewerck

Note: see biography under Administration

Syllabus Specialist (responsible for maintaining syllabus database and implementation of revised standards)

Ghebrehiwet Ghebremedhin

Note: see biography under Administration

Language for this course code E

General Concepts and Guidelines:

It is important to note that EUCLID functions under an intergovernmental mandate to deliver programs of higher education that conform to international standards and that are fully documented (Statutes IX). Accordingly, a standard 3 USCH course,which is at least equivalent to 4.5 ECTS, represents a number of classroom instruction hours equivalent to 3 x 12.5 = 37.5 hours (lower base line) – 3 x 14 = 42 hours (higher base line).

Even in the case of courses for which lectures (audio / video) are available to cover the entirety of the material, reading assignments are mandatory.

In the case of courses that are primarily delivered by means of reading assignments, EUCLID considers that a standard 3 USCH course should correspond to approximately 600-800 pages of intense, directly relevant readings. This is consistent with generally accepted standards applicable to the USCH and ECTS systems. Moreover, EUCLID favors full textbooks over compiled chapters from heterogeneous sources.

For practical and organizational reasons, this study workload is structured in the format of one semester (about 15 weeks). This logical ‘semester’ is organized in 7 periods of ‘2 weeks’ each, the last one being a buffer and final study period. Because EUCLID has a primary mandate to serve busy government officials for its Participating States, these periods are presented as a structured approach rather than as an enforced set of deadlines. In practice, then, a student may take more or less than 14 weeks to complete the course because the intention is not to reproduce an actual semester but rather to offer a logical breakdown of the course over a flexible span of time.

In all cases, all the assignments must be submitted, approved and graded for the course to be completed.

It must be noted that EUCLID guidelines require that a comprehensive oral examination take place upon completion of all other assignments in order for the final grade to be posted and for the course to be formally completed.

See also: Academic Standards

How to Use this Syllabus:

This standardized syllabus is your study guide for this course.

Most EUCLID courses require the sequential reading of the textbooks (and other materials) listed below. By “reading,” we do not mean mere casual reading but rather intense studying with an effort to memorize (highlighting with comments and taking notes is highly recommended).

The “Course Materials” may include textbooks as well as other types of resources including MP3 downloads, webcasts, compiled PDFs, etc.

It is the responsibility of the student to obtain the Course Materials. In most cases, the resources requires for the course are available from the EUCLID online library.

Once you have completed the reading of the course materials, you must contact your course instructor or coordinator to discuss the proposed theme of the required major paper(s).

Even though the quiz assignment is sometimes considered or listed after the major papers, it is advisable to complete this assignment prior to starting work on the paper(s).

For each quiz questions, do not forget to provide a footnote reference to where (text, page) the correct answer can be found. Remember that the instructor will evaluate your ability to create intelligent questions spanning all required textbooks, offer plausible answers, and properly footnote the textbook reference.

For the paper(s), do not forget that you must comply with all ACA-401 guidelines and requirements. Always refer to the latest Word template and ACA-401 checklist which can be found on the Egnyte Platform.

Student Responsibilities:

  • Read (study) all reading assignments carefully and intensely in order to be able to memorize, re-express, inter-relate and engage the information provided.
  • Write biweekly short reaction papers (“journals”) on the assigned readings, not longer than two single-spaced pages.
  • Write 1 or 2 (as directed) high quality, publishable major papers that meet ACA-401 guidelines and that provide several properly formatted citations to the textbooks.
  • Create a quiz that demonstrates your ability to create intelligent questions with plausible answers, and provide footnotes to the correct answers.
  • Prepare carefully for the final oral examination by re-reading the required textbooks. This is not an open book exam and you should have memorized the key terms and concepts in order to be able to offer a professional articulation and presentation when examined by the instructor.

General Course Description:

This course is guided review of the following institutions, including practical information on how financing is obtained and managed:

- International Monetary Fund

- World Bank Group

- European Investment Bank

- Islamic Development Bank

- African Development Bank 

 

In particular, A Guide to the World Bank is a reference guide to the five institutions that make up the World Bank Group: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). This book serves as a general overview of the World Bank’s history, organization, mission, and purpose. 

The book begins with the basic facts about the World Bank Group. It then describes the World Bank’s operations, giving a brief overview of policies, projects, and procedures. An introduction to the wealth of information resources produced by the World Bank will help readers understand and navigate the types of documents, statistics, and reports that are available from the World Bank, on its Web site, and in print publications. 

A chapter on Topics in Development summarized the hot issues in development economics today and the World Bank’s response to each. A chapter on organization explains what the different units within the World Bank Group are and how they work together to help reduce poverty. 

Topics covered:

- World Bank organization and governance

- Products and Services

- Project Cycle

- WB Partnerships

- World Bank regions overview

- Debt Relief

- Education

- Small Businesses Development

- Sustainable Development

- Water issues

 

Course Objectives:

The overall objectives of this course are to provide a good understanding of what the World Bank is, how the group operates and how its operations aim at reducing poverty. The practical objective is to provide an understanding of how and when the World Bank group can be a partner for development economics projects.

Course Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student is expected to able to:

be conversant with fundamentals of:

- World Bank organization and governance

- Products and Services

- Project Cycle

- WB Partnerships

- World Bank regions overview

- Debt Relief

- Education

- Small Businesses Development

- Sustainable Development

- Water issues

Required Readings and Resources:

Student must contact assigned instructor to receive an updated list of required readings.

 A Guide to the World Bank by World Bank

 The IMF and Economic Development by James Raymond Vreeland

 International Monetary Fund

 www.imf.org – watch all presentation videos

 European Investment Bank

 www.eib.eu

 Islamic Development Bank Group

 www.isdb.org

 African Development Bank

 www.asdb.org

 Asian Development Bank

 www.adb.org

Supplemental Readings and Resources:

Not Applicable

Useful Templates and Resources:

Word Template Use this single-spaced template (DOCX) for Response Papers
Word Template Use this double-spaced template (DOCX) for Major Papers
Quiz Template Use this single-spaced sample (DOCX) for the Quiz
Sample RP This is a sample response paper for ACA-401
Sample MP This is a sample major paper for DIP-401
Checklist This PDF is a checklist to use before submitting a paper

Organization and structure of course studies:

Period 1 (Typically, weeks 1-2)
Reading Assignments A Guide to the World Bank by World Bank - First half of the book
MP3s or Videos N/A
Method of Instruction Reading
Tasks / Assignments Study course material + writing response paper 1
Deliverables Response paper 1

Period 2 (Typically, weeks 3-4)
Reading Assignments A Guide to the World Bank by World Bank - Second half of the book
MP3s or Videos N/A
Method of Instruction Reading
Tasks / Assignments Study course material + writing response paper 2
Deliverables Response paper 2

Period 3 (Typically, weeks 5-6)
Reading Assignments The IMF and Economic Development by James Raymond Vreeland - First half of the book
MP3s or Videos N/A
Method of Instruction Reading
Tasks / Assignments Study course material + writing response paper 3 + Work on first major paper
Deliverables Response paper 3

Period 4 (Typically, weeks 7-8)
Reading Assignments The IMF and Economic Development by James Raymond Vreeland - Second half of the book
MP3s or Videos N/A
Method of Instruction Reading
Tasks / Assignments Study course material + writing response paper 4
Deliverables Response paper 4 + Submit first major paper

Period 5 (Typically, weeks 9-10)
Reading Assignments European Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank
MP3s or Videos Video
Method of Instruction Reading/Listening/Watching
Tasks / Assignments Study course material + writing response paper 5
Deliverables Response paper 5 + Start work on second major paper

Period 6 (Typically, weeks 11-12)
Reading Assignments Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank
MP3s or Videos Video
Method of Instruction Reading/Listening/watching
Tasks / Assignments Study course material + writing response paper 6 + Make appointment for interview (final exam)
Deliverables Quiz + Response paper 6 + Submit second major paper

Period 7 (Typically, weeks 13-14)
Reading Assignments Reviewing all reading materials (catch up on previous readings)
MP3s or Videos Video
Method of Instruction Reading/Listening/watching
Tasks / Assignments Conduct Final Exam (Interview)
Deliverables Submit all assignments due - course completion

Special Course Comment / Review of Required Assignments to Complete Course:

 


In addition to the short response papers, the standard required assignments are:

Quiz:

The student must create a multiple-choice or missing word quiz with 10 questions, based on the textbook(s), and with footnoted references to the correct answers (with page number in textbook).

A sample is available at http://www.euclid.int/syllabi/quiz.docx  and can also be found on the Egnyte platform under Courses > ACA-401

Major paper(s):

This course requires the presentation of 2 major paper(s) (standard length is 12-24 pages using the MP template which is double-spaced).The theme is the student’s choice, but must be selected and confirmed in consultation with the assigned instructor, and be based on the required study materials.

The major paper(s) must (1) comply with all ACA-401 guidelines (2) make at least 3 properly formatted references to the textbook(s).

Final Examination:

Once the paper(s) and quiz have been submitted, this course is capped by an extensive oral examination and interactive interview conducted by the assigned instructor using web-conferencing technology (WebEx, Skype).

Composite Evaluation and Grading:

  • 10% of the final grade is based on the response papers
  • 60% of the final grade is based on the major paper(s) and quiz
  • 30% of the final grade is based on the final oral exam / closing interview.

Failure to obtain a passing grade on the final oral exam will result in course failure.

Standard grading scale and academic policies apply to this course.

Standard EUCLID Grading Scale:

Even through there is no internationally standardized grading system, EUCLID uses a scale that is fairly standard, namely:

  1. Grades are numeric (0 – 4) and convertible to letters (F – A)
  2. A+ is a novelty and is not used
  3. EUCLID has a strict grading policy and does not engage in ‘grade inflation’
  4. Grading is based on standards, not ranking within the group
  5. Because of (3), 2.35 or C+ is the pass standard for all courses, provided that a full academic review of all grades under 2.5 conclude that the student does meet requirements for graduation.

Numeric grades are converted to letter grades as follows:

Numeric

Letter

Explanation / Standards

4

A

All objectives are fully met

3.7

A-

All objectives are fully met with minor suggestions for improvement

3.5

B++

Rarely used: All objectives are fully met with minor suggestions for improvement

3.35

B+

All objectives are met with specific suggestions for improvement

3

B

Satisfactory output, but improvement are expected to fully meet all the objectives of the program

2.85

Almost B

Rarely used: Satisfactory output, but improvement are expected to fully meet all the objectives of the course(s)

2.75

B-

Passing but less than satisfactory output. Improvements in more than one course standards are expected to fully meet all the objectives of the course(s)

2.5 - 2.35

C+

Minimum passing grade: Improvements are mandated in more than one course standards are expected to fully meet all the objectives of the course(s)

2

C

Failing grade: does not meet mandatory objectives of the course(s)

1.65

C-

Failing grade: does not meet in any way the objectives of the course(s)

0

Fail

Assignment to does meet in any way the objectives of the courses or contains plagiarism / academic violations

 


   

IMPRESSUM:

EUCLID (Pôle Universitaire Euclide |Euclid University):

A treaty-based organization with international liaison and representative offices in New York / Washington DC, Montpellier (France), Berlin (Germany)

International Headquarters: Bangui, C.A.R.; Banjul, The Gambia

Email: [email protected]

Institutional High Steward: President Faustin Touadéra, PhD (Mathematics; Lille, France)

Diplomatic and Academic High Steward: Ambassador Juan Avila, PhD (Education; Fordham, USA)

EXPLORE:

- Online Master's Degree Programs at EUCLID

- Online PhD Degree Programs at EUCLID

- Online MBAs | Islamic Finance | Energy Studies

- Online PhD and Master's in Global Health

- EUCLID Mobile / Responsive Web site

- Why Choose EUCLID?

- Alumni Profiles | References

- Sustainability Programs | IOSD

GLOBAL:

- Participating States

- UN registered charter and statutes

- Participations / Memberships