Economic Development and Public Policy

Catalog description

Two United States’ worth of people across the world live in extreme poverty, defined as less than $2.15 per day (adjusted for purchasing power to the United States in 2017). Cross-country income differences between high-income and low-income countries can be on the order of 2,000–4,000%. This course will discuss theories and empirical studies from development economics that aim to understand the causes and consequences of these vast differences, and formulate and evaluate policies designed to improve the lives of people living in poverty. The course will draw on readings from textbook(s) and original research papers.