Fall 2016 Reading List:
Readings must be completed prior to each lecture.
Some links (e.g. JSTOR) will only work on campus.
Lecture 1: Measuring Poverty and Inequality (August 31)
Required Readings:
Measuring Poverty by Angus Deaton (also published in Understanding Poverty)
The Economic Lives of the Poor by Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo
Poor Economics, chapter 1
Related Readings:
Global Income Inequality in Numbers: in History and Now by Branko Milanovic
Slate: How Many Americans Live on $2 per Day?
National Poverty Center: Extreme Poverty in the United States
Brookings: U.S. $2 a Day Poverty in a Global Context
Lecture 2: The Problem of Causal Inference (September 7)
Required Readings:
Chapter 1 from Mastering 'Metrics by Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke
NOTE: this book is an excellent introduction to econometrics and empirical methods for policy analysis; not required but highly recommended for this course and your future life as an empiricist
Lectures 3 & 4: Geography (September 12 & 14)
Required Readings:
Tropics, Germs, and Crops by William Easterly and Ross Levine
Related Readings:
African Development, chapter 6
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
(Available from Amazon or the
UMD Library)
Jared Diamond's Nature article that reviews the main points of Guns, Germs, and Steel
Geography, Demography, and Economic Growth in Africa by David Bloom and Jeffrey Sachs
The Columbian Exchange by Nathan Nunn and Nancy Qian
Lectures 5 & 6: The African Slave Trade (September 19 & 21)
Required Readings:
Shackled to the Past: The Causes and Consequences of Africa's Slave Trade by Nathan Nunn
Related Readings:
The Long Term Effects of Africa's Slave Trades by Nathan Nunn
The Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in Africa by Nathan Nunn and Leonard Wantchekon
Lecture 7: The Legacy of Colonialism (September 26)
Required Readings:
Colonialism and Modern Income: Islands as Natural Experiments by James Feyrer and Bruce Sacerdote
Tribe or Nation? Nation Building and Public Goods in Kenya versus Tanzania by Edward Miguel
Related Readings:
African Development, chapter 2
History, Institutions and Economic Performance: the Legacy of Colonial Land Tenure Systems in India by Abhijit Banerjee and Lakshmi Iyer
We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families (especially Chapter 4) by Philip Gourevitch
(Available from Amazon or the
UMD Library)
Lecture 8: Development Policy after Bretton Woods (October 3)
Required Readings:
The Elusive Quest for Growth, chapters 2 and 3
Related Readings:
African Development, chapter 3
The Myth of Asia's Miracle by Paul Krugman
Lecture 9: The Debt Crisis & Structural Adjustment (October 5)
Required Readings:
The Elusive Quest for Growth, chapters 6 and 7
Related Readings:
African Development, chapters 7-9
African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis, 1979-1999 by Nicolas van de Walle
(Available from Amazon or the
UMD Library)
Lecture 10: Trade Liberalization (October 17)
Required Readings:
Globalization and Poverty: An Introduction by Ann Harrison
Related Readings:
Trade Liberalization, Poverty, and Inequality: Evidence from Indian Districts by Petia Topalova
Globalization and Complementary Policies: Poverty Impacts on Rural Zambia by Jorge F. Balat and Guido G. Porto
Lecture 11: The Randomization Revolution (October 19)
Required Readings:
Impact Evaluation in Practice, chapters 3 and 4
Related Readings:
Use of Randomization in the Evaluation of Development Effectiveness by Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer
Lecture 12 & 13: Health in Early Childhood (October 24 & 26)
Required Readings:
Poor Economics, chapters 2 and 3
JPAL Policy Brief: Deworming: A Best Buy for Development
World Bank: Do Infants Benefit When Older Siblings are Dewormed?
Related Readings:
Worms: Identifying Impacts on Education and Health in the Presence of Treatment Externalities by Edward Miguel and Michael Kremer
Exploiting Externalities to Estimate the Long-term Benefits of Early Childhood Deworming by Owen Ozier
Lectures 14 & 15: The Demand for Prevention (October 31 & November 2)
Required Readings:
Global Health Systems: Pricing and User Fees by Pascaline Dupas
JPAL Policy Brief: The Price Is Wrong
JPAL Policy Brief: Incentives for Immunization
Related Readings:
Getting Essential Health Products to Their End Users: Subsidize, but How Much? by Pascaline Dupas
Improving Immunization Coverage in Rural India by Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, Rachel Glennerster and Dhruva Kothari
Lectures 16 & 17: The Returns to Education (November 9 & 14)
Required Readings:
Poor Economics, chapter 4
Impact Evaluation in Practice, chapter 6
JPAL Policy Brief: See Tomorrow's Jobs, Invest in Girls Today
Related Readings:
Schooling and Labor Market Consequences of School Construction in Indonesia by Esther Duflo
Do Labor Market Opportunities Affect Young Women's Work and Family Decisions? by Robert Jensen
Lectures 18 & 19: Improving School Quality (November 16 & 21)
Required Readings:
Field Experiments in Education in Developing Countries by Karthik Muralidharan
NOTE: only sections 1 through 3 (pages 1-27) are required
Related Readings:
School Governance, Teacher Incentives, and Pupil-Teacher Ratios: Experimental Evidence from Kenyan Primary Schools by Esther Duflo, Pascaline Dupas, and Michael Kremer
Missing in Action: Teacher and Health Worker Absence in Developing Countries by Nazmul Chaudhury, Jeffrey Hammer, Michael Kremer, Karthik Muralidharan, and F. Halsey Rogers
Putting a Band-Aid on a Corpse: Incentives for Nurses in the Indian Public Health Care System by Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Rachel Glennerster
Lecture 20: Youth Unemployment (November 28)
Required Readings:
A Firm of One's Own: Experimental Evidence on Credit Constraints and Occupational Choice by Andrew Brudevold, Maddalena Honorati, Pamela Jakiela, and Owen Ozier
Related Readings:
Youth Unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa by Deon Filmer and Louise Fox
Lectures 21 & 22: Microfinance (November 30 & December 5)
Required Readings:
Poor Economics, chapters 7 and 9
JPAL Policy Brief: Where Credit Is Due
Related Readings:
The Miracle of Microfinance? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation by Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, Rachel Glennerster, and Cynthia Kinnan
NPR Goats and Soda: Can Microloans Lift Women Out of Poverty?
Lectures 23 & 24: Firm & Farm Productivity (December 7 & 12)
Required Readings:
JPAL Policy Brief: A Well-Timed Nudge