DV491      Half Unit
Economic Development Policy II: Microeconomic Analysis

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Availability

Requisites

Additional requisites:

Foundations of Applied Econometrics for Economic Development Policy (DV494)

For students without strong skills in economics and statistics DV494 constitutes the foundational prerequisite for DV491 in the Winter term.

This course examines the microeconomic foundations of economic policy-making in developing countries. Classes will combine economic theory and rigorous empirical analysis to better understand the impact of economic development policy on development goals. We will focus on specific examples chosen from development cases worldwide to learn which policies have worked, which ones have not, and how a rigorous analysis of these experiences can inform the design of better economic development policies in the future.
The course is structured around three main themes:
(i) Human Development: health policy, education policy and intra-household dynamics
(ii) Institutions and Markets: labour markets, state capacity for public service delivery and private sector development

(iii) Behavioural Economics and Development Policy Design: the importance of psychology in explaining economic behaviour and how it can inform better development policy design

15 hours of seminars and 20 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

There will be a weekly workshop run by a Teaching Fellow for students to ask questions about the material.

Cohen, J. and P. Dupas (2010) “Free Distribution or Cost-sharing? Evidence from a Randomized Malaria Prevention Program”,  Quarterly Journal of Economics
Das, Jishnu, Jeffrey Hammer and Kenneth Leonard (2008) “The Quality of Medical Advice in Low Income Countries”, Journal of Economic Perspectives
Dupas, Pascaline. (2011). “Do teenagers respond to HIV risk information: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Kenya”, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Duflo, E.; R. Hanna, S. Ryan. (2012). “Monitoring Works: Getting Teachers to Come to School”, American Economic Review
Muralidharan, K and V. Sundararaman. (2011). “Teacher Performance Pay: Experimental Evidence from India”, Journal of Political Economy
Duflo, E., and C. Udry. (2004) “Intrahousehold Resource Allocation in Cote d'Ivoire: Social Norms, Separate Accounts and Consumption Choices”, National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper
Qian, Nancy (2008) “Missing Women and the Price of Tea in China: The Effect of Sex-Specific Earnings on Sex Imbalance”. Quarterly Journal of Economics
Olken, Ben. (2007). “Monitoring Corruption: evidence from a Field Experiment in Indonesia”, Journal of Political Economy
Fisman, Ray (2001) “Estimating the Value of Political Connections”, American Economic Review
Dupas, Pascaline and Jonathan Robinson. (forthcoming) “Why don’t the poor save more? Evidence from Health Savings Experiments, American Economic Review
Ardagna, S. and Annamaria Lusardi (2008) “Explaining International Differences in Entrepreneurship: The Role of Individual Characteristics and Regulatory Constraints”, NBER Working Paper No. 14012
Guiso, L., P. Sapienza and L. Zingales, (2004) “The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development” American Economic Review
Chong, A., S. Duryea and E la Ferrara (2012), “Soap Operas and Fertility in Brazil”, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Bertrand, Marianne, and Sendhil Mullainathan (2004). "Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination.", American Economic Review
Duflo, Esther, and Petia Topalova. (2004) "Unappreciated Service: Performance, Perceptions, and Women Leaders in India."

Exam (70%), duration: 120 Minutes in the Spring exam period

Problem sets (30%)