Course Description: This seminar focuses on independent work with empirical research in development economics. After an initial introductory meeting, students choose one of six thematic areas within development economics and, within that area, formulate their own research question. Examples of thematic areas include “Informality”, “Female Labour Force Participation”, “Refugees and Other Forcibly Displaced Populations”, “Barriers to Search and Hiring in Urban Labour Markets”, “Climate Adaptation” and “Mobile Money and Microfinance”. Students address their chosen question by systematically reviewing and synthesising published empirical work. A key emphasis of the seminar is on evaluating how credible the empirical evidence is: students are expected to carefully assess research designs, identification strategies, data, and internal and external validity, and to reflect on what the evidence can and cannot tell us about causal effects and mechanisms. Theoretical contributions may be used to motivate hypotheses and mechanisms that are then examined in the empirical literature. The seminar is aimed at Bachelor students who are interested in empirical development economics and would like to gain experience working with research papers.

Kurs im HIS-LSF