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Empirical Perspectives on Economic Development

Key information

  • Module code:

    6SSMN968

  • Level:

    6

  • Semester:

      Spring

  • Credit value:

    15

Module description

What is the module about?

This module is designed to provide an in-depth introduction to some core topics in modern development economics. The module is divided into two halves. The first half, taught by Dr. Liang Bai, covers more of the macro literature, discussing the roles of institutions, history, international trade, as well as religion and culture in shaping the economic outcomes of different countries. The second half, taught by Dr. Dimitrios Minos, focuses more on the micro literature, discussing the roles of health, education, gender, as well as migration and remittances in shaping the economic outcomes of different individuals/households.

 

Who should do this module?

Students with a background in quantitative analysis, who are interested in development issues. Familiarity with Econometrics or Quantitative Analysis is required..

 

Provisional Lecture Outline

Lecture 1: Institutions

  1. Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation." American Economic Review 91.5 (2001): 1369-1401.

  1. Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson. "Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution." Quarterly Journal of Economics 117.4 (2002): 1231-1294.

  1. Acemoglu, Daron, et al. "Democracy Does Cause Growth." Journal of Political Economy 127.1 (2019): 47-100.

Tutorial Discussion: Becker, Sascha, Andreas Ferrara, Eric Melander, and Luigi Pascali. “Wars, Taxation and Representation: Evidence from Five Centuries of German History.” Working Paper (2022).

 

Lecture 2: HistoryNunn, Nathan. "The Long-Term Effects of Africa's Slave Trades." Quarterly Journal of Economics 123.1 (2008): 139-176.

  1. Nunn, Nathan, and Leonard Wantchekon. "The Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in Africa." American Economic Review 101.7 (2011): 3221-52.

  1. Michalopoulos, Stelios, and Elias Papaioannou. 2016. "The Long-Run Effects of the Scramble for Africa." American Economic Review, 106 (7): 1802-48.

  1. Voigtländer, Nico, and Hans-Joachim Voth. "The Three Horsemen of Riches: Plague, War, and Urbanization in Early Modern Europe." Review of Economic Studies 80.2 (2013): 774-811.

Tutorial Discussion: Heblich, Stephan, Stephen J. Redding, and Hans-Joachim Voth. “Slavery and the British Industrial Revolution.” NBER Working Paper 30451 (2022).

 

Lecture 3: International Trade

  1. Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson. "The Rise of Europe: Atlantic Trade, Institutional Change, and Economic Growth." American Economic Review 95.3 (2005): 546-579.

  2. Oded Galor, Andrew Mountford, “Trading Population for Productivity: Theory and Evidence,” Review of Economic Studies, Volume 75, Issue 4, (2008): 1143–1179.

  1. Feyrer, James. "Trade and Income -- Exploiting Time Series in Geography." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 11.4 (2019): 1-35.

  1. Bilge Erten and Jessica Leight, “Exporting out of Agriculture: The Impact of WTO Accession on Structural Transformation in China”, Review of Economics and Statistics, 2021, pp. 364-380.

 

Tutorial Discussion: Pascali, Luigi. “The Wind of Change: Maritime Technology, Trade and Economic Development.” American Economic Review 107.9 (2017): 2821-54.

 

Lecture 4: Religion and Culture

  1. McCleary, Rachel M., and Robert J. Barro. "Religion and Economy." Journal of Economic Perspectives 20.2 (2006): 49-72.

  2. Becker, Sascha O., and Ludger Woessmann. "Was Weber Wrong? A Human Capital Theory of Protestant Economic History." Quarterly Journal of Economics 124.2 (2009): 531-596.

  1. Gorodnichenko, Yuriy, and Gerard Roland. "Culture, Institutions, and the Wealth of Nations." Review of Economics and Statistics 99.3 (2017): 402-416.

 

Tutorial Discussion: Gharad Bryan, James J Choi, Dean Karlan, “Randomizing Religion: the Impact of Protestant Evangelism on Economic Outcomes,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 136.1 (2021): 293-380.

 

Lecture 5: Education

  1. Mbiti, I. (2016) "The Need for Accountability in Education in Developing Countries", Journal of Economic Perspectives, 30:3, 109-132

  1. Duflo, E., Dupas, P. and Kremer, M. (2015) "Education, HIV, and Early Fertility: Experimental Evidence from Kenya ", American Economic Review, 105:9, 2757-2797

  1. Duflo, E., Rema, H. and Ryan, S. (2012) "Incentives work: Getting teachers to come to school", American Economic Review, 102:4, 1241-1278

 

Tutorial Discussion: Islam, A. (2019) "Parent–teacher meetings and student outcomes: Evidence from a developing country", European Economic Review, 111:273-304

 

Lecture 6: Health

  1. Dupas, P. (2014) ”Short-Run Subsidies and Long-Run Adoption of New Health Products: Evidence from a Field Experiment”, Econometrica, 82:1, 197-228

  2. Baird, S. et al. (2016) ”Worms at Work: Long-Run Impacts of a Child Health Investment ”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 131:4, 1637-1680

  1. Banerjee, A. et al.(2010) ”Improving immunisation coverage in rural India: clustered randomised controlled evaluation of immunisation campaigns with and without incentives”, BMJ, 340, 1291

 

Tutorial Discussion: Christensen et al. (2021) "Building Resilient Health Systems: Experimental Evidence from Sierra Leone and the 2014 Ebola Outbreak", Quarterly Journal of Economics, 136:2, 1145-1198

 

Lecture 7: Gender

  1. Duflo, E. (2012) ”Women Empowerment and Economic Development”, Journal of Economic Literature, 50:4, 1051-1079

  2. Field, E. et al. (2021) ”On her own account: How strengthening women's financial control impacts labor supply and gender norms”, American Economic Review, 111:7, 2342-2375

  1. Jensen R. and Oster, E. (2009) ”The power of TV: Cable television and women's status in India”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124:3, 1057-1094

 

Tutorial Discussion: Bandiera et al. (2020) "Women's Empowerment in Action: Evidence from a randomised control trial in Africa", AEJ: Applied Economics, 12:1, 210-259

 

Lecture 8: Migration

  1. Yang, D. (2011) ”Migrant Remittances”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25:3, 129-151

  2. Bryan, G. et al. (2014) ”Underinvestment in a profitable Technology: The case of Seasonal Migration in Bangladesh”, Econometrica, 82:5, 1671-1748

  1. Mobarak, AM et al. (2023) ”Returns to International Migration: Evidence from a Bangladesh-Malaysia Lottery”, AEJ: Applied Economics, 15:4, 353-388

 

Assessment details

30% Group Coursework
70% Individual Coursework

Teaching pattern

Weekly lectures

Weekly tutorials

Suggested reading list

Key text or background reading

Compulsory

Journal articles

Subject areas

Department

Module description disclaimer

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Please note that the module descriptions above are related to the current academic year and are subject to change.