Development economics
Development Economics
This essay will be assessed and will be worth 20% of your final grade. It should be approximately 2500 words. You will not be graded on the length of essay. 1. A key point of the essay is for you to develop and practise writing skills. 2. The second point is for you to develop independent thinking and to be able to undertake some research. 3. And finally, for you to learn about a topic which we have not been able to cover in the lectures. You have to inform me about your topic (and what you want to write) by December 1, 2020. You will get feedback on your topic and idea. I expect at this stage that you are able to discuss with me some idea and at least one or two readings you plan to use.
You can write on any related issues or questions to the given topics. Note that readings suggested are general readings, a possible place to start your research
Question Religion, ethnicity, culture and development. (suggested first reading: S.O. Becker, L. Woessmann Was Weber wrong? A human capital theory of protestant economic history. Q. J. Econ., 124 (2) (2009), pp. 531- 596). Suggested Key words: Religion, culture, trust, historical institutions.
The specific related issue I have chosen to write on the given topic is the anti CAA- violence, the Hindu, Muslim riots in India and the effects of the religion conflicts in development of the country.
One suggested paper on this specific topic is
https://www.econ.nyu.edu/user/debraj/Papers/hm.pdf
You can focus on one country or write a more general essay on the topic. You can also chose to focus on a particular aspect of the problem or solution.
The best place to start your search is Google Scholar. Some authors and resources which may be useful, for the topic above.
Suggested papers ;
1. Paul Collier, Oxford. (http://users.ox.ac.uk/econpco/)
2. Ted Miguel, Berkeley. (http://emiguel.econ.berkeley.edu/)
3. Pascaline Dupas, Stanford. (http://web.stanford.edu/pdupas/)
4. Dean Karlan, Yale. (http://karlan.yale.edu/)
5. James Robinson, Chicago. http://scholar.harris.uchicago.edu/jamesrobinson
6. Tim Besley, LSE. (http://www.lse.ac.uk/economics/people/facultyPages/TimBesley.aspx) 7. Debraj Ray, NYU. (http://www.econ.nyu.edu/user/debraj/)
8. Michael Kremer, Harvard (https://scholar.harvard.edu/kremer/home)
9. J- PAL. An excellent resource for studies done on various policies to fight poverty across the word. (https://www.povertyactionlab.org/)
10. International Growth Centre. Another excellent source of research done on various policies to combat poverty in various parts of the world. (http://www.theigc.org/)
11. World Bank (http://www.worldbank.org/en/research)
12. Research Page at Oxford International Development Economics. (http://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/)
13. Centre of International Development, Harvard. (https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/cid) Evaluation: Marking guidelines
The essay should be;
1. Should be relevant topic. (5%)
2. Should be well motivated – explains why this is relevant to look at given the context of development. (20%)
3. Analysis and explanation- exposition should be clear. (25%)
4. Data and or examples – should have as much as examples and or data (15%)
5. Should be well researched. (25%)
6. Is the essay able to reach any conclusion? (10%) Points to consider (this list of points is suggested, you can format your essay differently.):
Format of the essay:
1. Introduction: Why is the issue relevant from the perspective of a developing nation?
2. What is the constraint in improving welfare of the people concerned?
3. Description of the major features of the issues you are discussing. Provide data if available. 4. Explanation of the problem.
5. Are there any policy recommendations? If yes, describe them?
6. Conclusion
