STANFORD

 UNIVERSITY  
DEPARTMENT  OF  ECONOMICS  
 
Economics  101:  Economic  Policy  Analysis  
Economic  Development  
 
Fall  2015  
 
Instructor  
Eva  Vivalt  
Email:  [email protected]  
Office  hours:    
W  11:30  a.m.  -­‐  12:30  p.m.,  347  Landau  
 
Time  and  Location  
M,  W  9:30  -­‐  11:20  a.m.,  299  Lathrop  
 
Teaching  Assistant  
Odyssia  Ng  
Email:  [email protected]  
Office  hours:  TBA  
 
Prerequisites  
51,  52,  102B  and  at  least  2  field  courses  
 
Course  Objective  
To  develop  skills  in  order  to  analyze  and  convey  economic  ideas  effectively.  
 
Course  Description  
This  course  will  guide  students  towards  writing  an  academic  paper.  Classes  and  
sections  will  emphasize  current  econometric  methods.  Students  will  be  expected  to  
come  up  with  an  interesting  research  question  and  a  feasible  strategy  for  answering  
it.  To  learn  how  to  think  and  write  like  an  economist,  students  will  also  read,  
present  and  discuss  academic  papers.  
 
The  papers  discussed  in  this  course  will  relate  to  development  economics  and  best  
research  practices.  
 
Course  Policies  
No  laptops,  iPhones,  iPads,  etc.  I'll  post  the  lecture  notes  on  the  class  website.  
In  addition,  all  courses  taught  in  the  Stanford  Department  of  Economics  are  
governed  by  a  common  set  of  course  management  rules.  A  document  explaining  
these  rules  is  available  at  
http://economics.stanford.edu/undergraduate/economics-­‐common-­‐syllabus.  
Please  familiarize  yourself  with  these  rules  and  contact  me  if  you  have  any  
questions.  
  
Grading  
Individual  paper  and  presentation:  60%  
     Research  idea  assignment:  5%  
     Pre-­‐analysis  plan:  5%  
     First  draft:  10%  
     Final  paper  presentation:  10%  
     Final  paper:  25%  
     Reflection  on  pre-­‐analysis  plan:  5%  
 
Short  writing  assignments:  20%  
     Peer  review  x  2:  10%  each  
 
In-­‐class  activities:  20%  
     Class  presentation:  10%  
     Class  participation:  10%  
 
No  late  assignments  will  be  accepted.  There  will  be  no  exceptions.  
 
Description  of  Assignments  
 
Research  idea  assignment  (due  Sept.  30)  
Each  student  will  write  a  concise  description  of  3  potential  research  projects.  Each  
project  description  should  be  no  more  than  1-­‐2  paragraphs,  and  the  three  together  
should  fill  1  page  single-­‐spaced.  Within  each  description,  it  should  be  clear  exactly  
what  the  research  question  is,  why  it  is  an  interesting  question  (so  what?),  which  
data  will  be  used  to  answer  the  question,  and  how  the  question  will  be  answered  
(the  identification  strategy).  
 
These  research  questions  will  be  reviewed,  clarifying  questions  asked,  and  hopefully  
one  or  more  of  the  ideas  will  be  approved  as  a  potential  final  paper  topic.  If  more  
than  one  idea  is  approved,  the  student  can  pick  any  of  the  approved  topics  to  write  
on.  Grades  will  be  assigned  to  each  of  the  three  research  idea  summaries,  but  only  
the  best  one  will  count  towards  the  course  grade.  If  no  idea  is  approved,  the  student  
will  have  to  redo  the  exercise,  and  a  grade  of  0  will  be  recorded  for  this  portion.  
 
Pre-­‐analysis  plan  (due  Oct.  14)  
Each  student  must  register  with  the  Open  Science  Foundation  and  upload  a  pre-­‐
analysis  plan  of  a  minimum  of  2  single-­‐spaced  pages.  Guidelines  will  be  provided  as  
to  what  a  pre-­‐analysis  plan  should  include.  
 
While  pre-­‐analsyis  plans  are  of  more  use  when  one  does  not  yet  have  the  data  in  
hand,  this  assignment  serves  two  purposes:  1)  to  further  develop  the  research  idea  
and  be  clear  on  the  empirical  methodology;  2)  to  learn  how  to  write  pre-­‐analysis  
plans.  
 
First  draft  (due  Oct.  28)  
Should  be  a  complete  paper  of  the  intended  final  length:  10-­‐12  pages  double-­‐spaced.  
Guidance  will  be  provided  in  class.  
 
Peer  reviews  (due  Nov.  4)  
Each  student  will  randomly  be  assigned  to  review  two  other  students'  first  drafts.  
Your  reviews  will  be  graded  on  their  quality,  but  they  will  not  enter  into  the  grades  
given  to  the  students'  first  drafts.  
 
Final  paper  presentation  (Nov.  30  or  Dec.  2)  
These  should  be  10-­‐15  minutes  long.  It  is  recommended  that  you  use  PowerPoint  or  
LaTeX  to  create  slides  that  provide  a  clear  and  succinct  overview  of  your  paper.  
Practice  more  than  you  think  you  need  to.  You  may  wish  to  form  groups  and  
practice  your  presentation  to  each  other  beforehand.  
 
Final  paper  (due  Dec.  4)  
10-­‐12  pages  double-­‐spaced.  Guidance  will  be  provided  in  class.  
   
Reflection  on  pre-­‐analysis  plan  (due  Dec.  4)  
Students  will  write  a  short  reflection  on  what  they  learned  from  using  a  pre-­‐analysis  
plan  and  how  their  research  may  have  diverged  from  the  plan.  Students  should  
include  examples  of  results  they  could  have  obtained  in  the  absence  of  a  pre-­‐
analysis  plan.  
 
Class  presentation  
Each  student  will  prepare  a  short  (10-­‐15  minute)  presentation  on  one  of  the  papers  
to  be  discussed  in  this  class,  leading  the  class  through  the  paper's  motivation,  
empirical  strategy,  and  findings.  Presentations  should  be  clear  on  what  the  
author(s)  did  and  why  and  offer  a  thoughtful  critique.  
 
Class  participation  
This  will  be  based  on  engagement  in  the  classroom.  Students  should  come  to  class  
prepared  to  discuss  each  day's  readings.  Students  are  also  expected  to  ask  good  
questions  /  make  good  comments  on  each  other's  presentations.  
 
Schedule  and  Reading  List  (subject  to  change)  
Date   Topic  
Sept.  21   Course  introduction  and  patterns  of  economic  development  
-­‐  Rosling,  Hans:  
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen  
-­‐  Sen,  Amartya.  “The  Concept  of  Development,”  Handbook  of  Development  
Economics,  Volume  1,  Edited  by  H.  Chenery  and  T.N.  Srinivasan,  Elsevier  Science  
Publishers,  1998.    
-­‐  Myrskyla,  Mikko,  Hans-­‐Peter  Kohler  and  Francesco  Billari.  "Advances  in  
Development  Reverse  Fertility  Declines",  Nature,  vol.  460  (2009).  
Sept.  23   Measuring  poverty,  inequality,  well-­‐being  
-­‐  Ravallion,  Martin.  "On  Multidimensional  Indices  of  Poverty",  Journal  of  Economic  
Inequality,  vol.  9(2)  (2011).  
-­‐  Frey,  Bruno  S.  and  Alois  Stutzer.  "What  Can  Economists  Learn  from  Happiness  
Research?",  Journal  of  Economic  Literature,  vol.  40(2)  (2002).  
-­‐  Diener,  Ed  and  Robert  Biswas-­‐Diener.  "Will  Money  Increase  Subjective  Well-­‐
Being?",  Social  Indicators  Research,  vol.  57(2)  (2002).  
-­‐  Pritchett,  Lant.  "Divergence,  Big  Time",  Journal  of  Economic  Perspectives,  vol.  11  
(3)  (1997).  
-­‐  Sala-­‐i-­‐Martin,  Xavier.  "The  World  Distribution  of  Income:  Falling  Poverty  and...  
Convergence,  Period",  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  vol.  121(2)  (2006).  
-­‐  Deaton,  Angus.  "Measuring  Poverty  in  a  Growing  World  (Or  Measuring  Growth  in  
a  Poor  World)",  Review  of  Economics  and  Statistics,  vol.  87  (1)  (2005).  
Sept.  28   Research  credibility  and  transparency  
-­‐  Casey,  Katherine,  Rachel  Glennerster  and  Edward  Miguel.  "Reshaping  
Institutions:  Evidence  on  Aid  Impacts  Using  a  Pre-­‐Analysis  Plan",  Quarterly  
Journal  of  Economics,  vol.  127(4)  (2012).  
-­‐  Brodeur,  Abel,  Mathias  Lé,  Marc  Sangnier  and  Yanos  Zylberberg.  "Star  Wars:  The  
Empirics  Strike  Back",  AEJ  Applied  Economics,  forthcoming.  
-­‐  McKenzie,  David:  http://blogs.worldbank.org/impactevaluations/a-­‐pre-­‐
analysis-­‐plan-­‐checklist  
Sept.  30   External  validity  
-­‐  Allcott,  Hunt.  "Site  Selection  Bias  in  Program  Evaluation",  Quarterly  Journal  of  
Economics,  (2015).  
-­‐  Vivalt,  Eva.  "How  Much  Can  We  Generalize?  Measuring  the  External  Validity  of  
Impact  Evaluations",  working  paper  (2015).  
Oct.  5   Aid  
-­‐  Easterly,  William.  "Can  the  West  Save  Africa?",  Journal  of  Economic  Literature,  
vol.  47(2)  (2009).  
-­‐  Burnside,  Craig  and  David  Dollar.  "Aid,  Policies,  and  Growth",  American  
Economic  Review,  vol.  90(4)  (2002).  
-­‐  Kuziemko,  Ilyana  and  Eric  Werker.  "How  Much  Is  a  Seat  on  the  Security  Council  
Worth?  Foreign  Aid  and  Bribery  at  the  United  Nations",  Journal  of  Political  
Economy,  vol.  114(5)  (2006).  
-­‐  Rajan,  Raghuram  and  Arvind  Subramanian,."Aid,  Dutch  Disease,  and  
Manufacturing  Growth",  Journal  of  Development  Economics,  vol.  94(1)  (2011).  
Oct.  7   Trade  and  FDI  
-­‐  Donaldson,  David.  "Railroads  of  Raj:  Estimating  the  Impact  of  Transportation  
Infrastructure",  American  Economic  Review,  forthcoming.  
-­‐  Javorcik,  Beata  Smarzynska.  "Does  Foreign  Direct  Investment  Increase  the  
Productivity  of  Domestic  Firms?  In  Search  of  Spillovers  Through  Backward  
Linkages",  American  Economic  Review,  vol.  94(3)  (2004).  
-­‐  Goldberg,  Pinelopi  K.,  Amit  Khandelwal,  Nina  Pavcnik  and  Petia  Topalova.  
"Imported  Intermediate  Inputs  and  Domestic  Product  Growth:  Evidence  from  
India",  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  forthcoming.  
Oct.  12   Private  sector  development  
-­‐  De  Mel,  Suresh,  David  McKenzie  and  Christopher  Woodruff.  "Returns  to  Capital  
in  Microenterprises:  Evidence  from  a  Field  Experiment",  Quarterly  Journal  of  
Economics,  vol.  123(4)  (2008).  
-­‐  Bloom,  Nicholas,  Benn  Eifert,  Aprajit  Mahajan,  David  McKenzie  and  John  Roberts.  
"Does  Management  Matter:  Evidence  from  India",  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  
vol.  128(1)  (2013).  
-­‐  Hsieh,  Chang-­‐Tai  and  Peter  J.  Klenow.  "Misallocation  and  Manufacturing  TFP  in  
China  and  India",  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  vol.  124(4)  (2009).  
Oct.  14   Good  governance  and  institutions  
-­‐  Acemoglu,  Daron,  Simon  Johnson  and  James  A.  Robinson.  "The  Colonial  Origins  of  
Comparative  Development:  An  Empirical  Investigation",  American  Economic  
Review,  vol.  91(5)  (2001).  
-­‐  Drazen,  Allan  and  Marcela  Eslava.  "Electoral  Manipulation  via  Voter-­‐Friendly  
Spending:  Theory  and  Evidence",  Journal  of  Development  Economics,  vol.  92(1)  
(2010).  
-­‐  Olken,  Ben.  "Monitoring  Corruption:  Evidence  from  a  Field  Experiment  in  
Indonesia",  Journal  of  Political  Economy,  vol.  115(2)  (2007).  
Oct.  19   Conflict  
-­‐  Blattman,  Chris  and  Jeannie  Annan.  "The  Consequences  of  Child  Soldiering",  The  
Review  of  Economics  and  Statistics,  vol.  92(4)  (2010).  
-­‐  Miguel,  Edward,  Shanker  Satyanath  and  Ernest  Sergenti.  "Economic  Shocks  and  
Civil  Conflict:  An  Instrumental  Variables  Approach",  Journal  of  Political  Economy,  
vol.  112(4)  (2004).  
Oct.  21   Behavioral  influences  
-­‐  Banerjee,  Abhijit  and  Sendhil  Mullainathan.  "The  Shape  of  Temptation:  
Implications  for  the  Economic  Lives  of  the  Poor",  working  paper  (2010).  
-­‐  Ashraf,  Nava,  Dean  Karlan  and  Wesley  Yin.  "Tying  Odysseus  to  the  Mast:  
Evidence  from  a  Commitment  Savings  Product  in  the  Philippines",  Quarterly  
Journal  of  Economics,  vol.  121(2)  (2006).  
Oct.  26   Health    
-­‐  Kremer,  Michael  and  Edward  Miguel.  "Worms:  Identifying  Impacts  on  Education  
and  Health  in  the  Presence  of  Treatment  Externalities",  Econometrica,  vol.  72(1)  
(2004).  
-­‐  Cohen,  Jessica  and  Pascaline  Dupas.  "Free  Distribution  or  Cost-­‐Sharing?  Evidence  
from  a  Randomized  Malaria  Prevention  Experiment",  Quarterly  Journal  of  
Economics,  vol.  125(1)  (2010).  
Oct.  28   Education  
-­‐  Maccini,  Sharon  and  Dean  Yang.  "Under  the  weather:  health,  schooling,  and  
economic  consequences  of  early-­‐life  rainfall",  American  Economic  Review,  vol.  
99(3)  (2009).  
-­‐  Baird,  Sarah,  Craig  McIntosh  and  Berk  Ozler.  "Cash  or  Condition?  Evidence  from  
a  Cash  Transfer  Experiment",  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  vol.  126  (4)  (2011).    
Nov.  2   Gender  
-­‐  Beaman,  Lori,  Raghabendra  Chattopadhyay,  Esther  Duflo,  Rohini  Pande  and  Petia  
 Topalova.  "Powerful  Women:  Does  Exposure  Reduce  Bias?"  Quarterly  Journal  of  
Economics,  vol.  124(4)  (2009).  
-­‐  Bandiera,  Oriana,  Niklas  Buehren,  Robin  Burgess,  Markus  Goldstein,  
Selim  Gulesci,  Imran  Rasul  and  Munshi  Sulaiman.  "Women’s  Empowerment  in  
Action:  Evidence  from  a  Randomized  Control  Trial  in  Africa",  working  paper  
(2014).  
Nov.  4   Environment  
-­‐  Grossman,  Gene  and  Alan  Krueger.  "Economic  Growth  and  the  Environment",  
Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  vol.  110(2)  (1995).  
-­‐  Hsiang,  Solomon,  Marshall  Burke  and  Edward  Miguel.  "Quantifying  the  Influence  
of  Climate  on  Human  Conflict",  Science,  vol.  341(6151)  (2013).  
Nov.  9   Migration  and  employment  
-­‐  Michael  Clemens.  "Economics  and  Emigration:  Trillian-­‐Dollar  Bills  on  the  
Sidewalk?",  Journal  of  Economic  Perspectives,  vol.  25(3)  (2011).  
-­‐  Şahin,  Ayşegül,  Joseph  Song,  Giorgio  Topa,  and  Giovanni  L.  Violante.  "Mismatch  
Unemployment",  American  Economic  Review,  vol.  104(11)  (2014).  
Nov.  11   Innovation  
-­‐  Dercon,  Stefan  and  Luc  Christiaensen.  "Consumption  Risk,  Technology  Adoption  
and  Poverty  Traps:  Evidence  from  Ethiopia",  Journal  of  Development  Economics,  
vol.  96(2)  (2011).  
-­‐  Aghion,  Philippe  and  Peter  Howitt.  "A  Model  of  Growth  Through  Creative  
Destruction",  Econometrica,  vol.  60(2)  (1992).  
-­‐  Hausmann,  Ricardo  and  Dani  Rodrik.  "Economic  Development  as  Self-­‐Discovery",  
Journal  of  Development  Economics,  vol.  72(2)  (2003).  
Nov.  16   No  class.  Individual  meetings  with  professor  
Nov.  18   Apps  for  development  
-­‐  Aker,  Jenny  C.  and  Isaac  M.  Mbiti.  "Mobile  Phones  and  Economic  Development  in  
Africa",  Journal  of  Economic  Perspectives  24(3)  (2010).  
-­‐  Jensen,  Robert.  "The  Digital  Provide:  Information  (Technology),  Market  
Performance  and  Welfare  in  the  South  Indian  Fisheries  Sector",  Quarterly  Journal  
of  Economics,  vol.  122(3)  (2007).  
Nov.  30   Presentations  
Dec.  2  
 
Presentations