Seminar: Political Economy of Development
This course presents fundamental elements of the political economy of development. The main puzzle of the course is how the political, social and other motives not related to pro-poor motives intervene the formulation and implementation of development policies. The course will consist of both lectures and seminars where the students discuss recent research articles in the field. A special focus will be done on up to date techniques of quantitative empirical research. In the lectures, the theoretical framework of the political economics and case studies with micro- and macroeconomic data from developing countries will be presented. In the seminars, the students will learn how to read and evaluate the research papers and make presentations. The goal of the course is to demonstrate how to think critically about development theory and practice.
The lecture and student presentations cover, amongst others, the following topics:
• Political cycles, electoral incentives and government policies
• Institutions, legacies and development outcomes
• Favoritism and corruption in development policies
• Lab and field experiments on political institutions, corruption, and policies
• Conflict and development (2 sessions)
• The political economy of foreign aid
Basic knowledge in quantitative analysis as well as micro- and macroeconomics is desired. While a strong mathematical or statistical background is not necessary to follow the course, students will be expected to engage with several papers using regression analysis and other econometric techniques. Prior knowledge in development economics and/or political economy is an advantage but not necessary.
The seminar language is English. An introductory session will be held on October 20th, 9-10 AM, the seminar will be in blocked form on the 18th and 19th of January from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM.
- Lehrende/r: Thomas Apolte
- Lehrende/r: Marina Dodlova