The course is intended to provide students with an overview of development economics mainly from a microeconomic perspective. The central aim of the course is to present basic analytical and empirical tools to understand household decisions and the functioning of markets and institutions in developing countries. The course will first give an overview of economic development and discuss its measurement. We will study the role of human capital (health and education) as a key determinant of development. We will analyze how imperfections in land, labor and credit markets may constrain growth and development in poor countries. The course will also introduce students to recent research in the field of development economics. It will provide an overview of the most recent empirical methodologies to measure the impact of policies and programs implemented in developing countries. Students will learn what determines the decisions of individuals, households and firms and what constraints do they face. We will examine why many developing countries face extreme poverty, high child mortality, low levels of education and what policies, if any, might be effective in alleviating these problems. Students will be trained to read critically articles and papers on each topic, formulate research questions and testable hypotheses, and develop a critical thinking on policies and programs implemented in developing countries.
Prerequisiti
Knowledge of key concepts in economic theory and econometric analysis would be preferable.
Metodi didattici
• Face-to-face lectures • Group work • Suggested participation to virtual development economics seminar series.
Verifica Apprendimento
• General written exam at the end of the course covering the entire course material • Group presentation
Testi
1) Chapters from the following two textbooks: • Ray, D. Development Economics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998. • Banerjee, A. V. and E. Duflo. Poor Economics. New York: PublicAffairs, 2011.
2) Academic Papers: a complete reading list and course material will be provided at the beginning of the course)
Contenuti
Topic 1: Introduction: Economic Development, Poverty and Inequality Topic 2: Development Program Evaluation: Empirical Methods Topic 3: Education Topic 4: Health Topic 5: Land Markets Topic 6: Credit markets and microfinance Topic 7: Conflict and Development Topic 8: Gender and Development Topic 9: Early Child Development in Developing Countries Topic 10: Social Norms Topic 11: Media and Development
