If you are a verified instructor, access the Pearson Instructor Resource Center (for Economic Development, 14th edition). You will find:
Access method: Log in with Pearson faculty account or request desk copy.
Rating: 4.0/5 (Useful but formulaic)
Audience: University instructors, Economics students (undergraduate/graduate)
The Good:
The Mixed / Could Be Improved:
The Bad (for some users):
Verdict:
⭐ Best for: Adjunct professors or new instructors who need a reliable, complete backbone for a development economics course. Also useful for students who want a structured review guide before exams.
⭐ Not for: Anyone seeking modern, visually engaging, or interactive slide decks. Also not ideal if you teach a policy-heavy or field-experience oriented class – these slides lean theoretical.
Final Tip: Download the slides, then strip out 40% of the text, add current data from the World Development Report, and insert one discussion prompt per chapter. After that minor surgery, they become a solid 4.5/5 resource.
In their seminal textbook Economic Development Michael P. Todaro Stephen C. Smith
shift the focus of development from simple industrial growth to a multidimensional process that involves major changes in social structures, popular attitudes, and national institutions. Economic Development Todaro-smith Powerpoint Slides
Below is a drafted feature overview of their core principles, ideal for use in a PowerPoint presentation. 1. Defining Development: The Three Core Values
Todaro and Smith argue that development is not just about income but about achieving these three "Core Values":
Sustenance: The ability to meet basic needs like food, shelter, health, and protection. No country can be "developed" if its people suffer from absolute poverty.
Self-Esteem: A sense of worth and self-respect. Development should eliminate the "feeling of worthlessness" associated with poverty and dependence.
Freedom from Servitude: The expansion of choices. This involves increasing the range of human options and minimizing external constraints on reaching those options. 2. The Capability Approach (Amartya Sen)
The presentation of development in the text is heavily influenced by Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach.
Functionings: What a person does or can do with the commodities they possess (e.g., being healthy, being literate).
Capabilities: The freedom that a person has in terms of the choice of functionings. Development is the process of expanding these real freedoms. 3. The Harris-Todaro Migration Model
A signature feature of the authors' work is the analysis of rural-to-urban migration:
Expected Income: Migration is a rational economic decision based on expected rather than actual real income.
Urban Unemployment: Explains why people continue to move to cities even when urban unemployment is high, provided the potential "lottery win" of a high-paying formal sector job remains attractive. 4. Traditional vs. Modern Measures of Progress
Slides typically compare how we evaluate success across different eras: If you are a verified instructor, access the
Traditional: Focused on GNI (Gross National Income) per capita and GDP growth rates.
Modern: Uses the Human Development Index (HDI), which weights health (life expectancy), education (literacy/schooling), and standard of living (PPP income) equally. Comparative Economic Development | PPTX - Slideshare
Economic Development: Understanding the Todaro-Smith Model
The Todaro-Smith model is a widely used framework in economics to understand the complexities of economic development in low-income countries. In this blog post, we'll break down the key concepts and provide an overview of the Todaro-Smith model, along with some informative PowerPoint slides.
What is the Todaro-Smith Model?
The Todaro-Smith model, developed by Michael Todaro and Stephen Smith, is an economic model that explains the development process in low-income countries. The model focuses on the interactions between population growth, urbanization, and economic development.
Key Components of the Todaro-Smith Model:
PowerPoint Slides: Todaro-Smith Model
Here are some sample PowerPoint slides to illustrate the Todaro-Smith model:
Slide 1: Introduction to the Todaro-Smith Model
Slide 2: Rural-Urban Migration
Slide 3: Urban Unemployment
Slide 4: Economic Growth
Key Takeaways from the Todaro-Smith Model
Conclusion
The Todaro-Smith model provides a useful framework for understanding the complexities of economic development in low-income countries. By recognizing the interactions between population growth, urbanization, and economic development, policymakers can design more effective interventions to promote economic growth and reduce poverty. We hope this blog post and accompanying PowerPoint slides have provided a helpful overview of the Todaro-Smith model.
Official instructor slides (from Pearson, the publisher) are excellent starting points, but they are often information-dense. Best practices:
Suppose you are a teaching assistant or a student assigned to present a chapter. Here’s a foolproof recipe for a 10-slide mini-lecture:
Design rule: Use the 5×5 rule – no more than 5 bullet points, no more than 5 words per bullet (except for definitions).
Not all PPTs are equal. A well-designed deck for economic development should contain:
Before diving into the slides, it’s helpful to understand the textbook’s unique approach. Unlike traditional growth theory (Solow, Romer), Todaro & Smith emphasize:
Any good set of PowerPoint slides must capture these nuances without oversimplifying.
If you cannot find quality slides, build them yourself using: