Syllabus for Public Affairs 974
Contemporary Issues in Development Policy
Spring, 2015
Location: 224 Ingraham, Tues, 9-10:55
DRAFT—will be updated and revised as the course progresses
Instructors Information
Valerie Kozel
Adjunct Associate Professor, La Follette School of Public Affairs
Email:
vkozel@wisc.edu
Office:
305 La Follette
Office Phone:
608-263-1802 (email is quicker)
Office Hours:
Wednesday 3-5, or by appointment
Course Description
In recent years, poverty and inequality have become increasingly important topics for
public debate, reflecting concerns about rising inequality in wealthy countries like the U.S.,
political instability and protests in middle and lower income countries e.g. Egypt and Brazil,
coupled with increasingly visible and growing gaps in wealth and living conditions between
rich and poor countries. Some countries have achieved unprecedented rates of growth and
massive improvements in living conditions, while others have faltered. Despite this
progress, over a billion people still lived on less than $1.25 a day in 2011 and many remain
vulnerable to poverty. Why are so many people still poor? What factors constrain them
from catching up? More importantly, what strategies hold the most promise to help the
remaining poor rise out of poverty and live better and more secure lives?
We begin by defining the primary objectives of development—i.e. reducing poverty and
vulnerability, promoting equity and “good” types of inequality while reducing “bad”
inequalities, promoting human development—and discussing regional and national trends
in related indicators. Economic growth has been a driving force for poverty reduction; the
course looks at big-picture issues including growth strategies and the role of institutions,
and summarizes recent debates around the role of international development assistance
and big-push versus incremental development strategies.
The second part of the course looks in depth at a selected set of contemporary development
challenges. Proposed topics include urbanization and rising numbers of urban
poor/vulnerable; the persistence of chronic, extreme poverty, including issues of exclusion
linked to ethnicity and gender; the primary of measures to improve skills and health
outcomes; government failure, linked to corruption and elite capture; and energy subsidies
and pricing policies.
Course materials will be augmented by case studies from low and middle income countries
(primarily East and South Asia, with some materials from sub-Saharan Africa) as well as
papers produced by local research institutes and think tanks.
The aim of the course is to train students to become better informed participants and more
effective contributors to global debates about poverty, inequality and economic
development.
Method of Instruction
I hope the class will be highly interactive. Lectures will present the key issues and highlight
important points from the background readings; the PPTs will be posted on Learn@UW just
after each class. Readings and class discussion will also be based on selective case studies
from low and middle income countries in East and South Asia, and may include some
limited examples from countries in Africa.
The first 15 minutes of each class will be reserved for a quick re-cap of issues discussed in
the previous class, and 2-3 presentations of responses to “puzzle” questions (see below).
These will provide an opportunity to practice and hone your presentation skills; let’s aim
for a 3-minute/3-slide presentations.
Texts and Teaching Resources
Many of the reading materials will be from journal articles and reports/policy papers; these
will be posted on Learn@UW at least one-week in advance of the relevant class.
Although there are no required textbooks for this class, a number of readings come from the
books listed below and you may want to purchase them (reasonably cheap from Amazon).
The relevant chapters will be available on the class Learn@UW website.
Angus Deaton (2013). The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of
Inequality. Princeton University Press.
William Easterly (2002). The Elusive Quest for Growth. MIT Press
Abhijit Banerjee, Roland Benabou, and Dilip Mookherjee (eds) (2006).
Understanding Poverty, Oxford University Press
For a more formal textbook treatment of topics, I will refer you to chapters in Debraj Ray
(1998). Development Economics. Princeton University Press.
Or (much more expensive, but an easier read):
Dwight Perkins, Steve Radelet, David Lindauer, and Steven Block (2013) Economics of
Development(7th edition). W.W. Norton and Co.
We will not have time to discuss impact evaluation methods; these are covered in a new
class (974) on International Program Evaluation. The World Bank has a good non-technical
treatment of impact evaluation methodologies available on line:.
Gertler, Paul, Sebastian Martinez, Patrick Premand, Laura Rawlings, and Christel
Vermeersch, 2010. Impact Evaluation in Practice, World Bank Training Series.
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2550
Requirements and Assessment
Four components go into determining your grade.
1. Read a good book about development (see suggested list below) and write a review: (3-5
pages) (25%) My preference is for us to all read Munk (and discuss together) but I am open
to other options.
Munk, Nina (2013). The Idealist, Anchor Books, Random House LLC
Deaton, Angus (2013). The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of
Inequality, Princeton University Press.
Sen, Amartya (1999). Development as Freedom, Oxford University Press
Banerjee, Abhijit and Esther Duflo (2011). Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of
the Way to Fight Global Poverty. Public Affairs
Banerjee, Abhijit and Esther Duflo (2011). Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of
the Way to Fight Global Poverty, Public Affairs: New York
Whyte, Martin King (2010). Myth of the Social Volcano: Perceptions of PInequality
and Distributive Justice in Contemporary China, Stanford University Press
In deciding on whether as a class to read The Idealist, listen to an interesting interview with
Nina Munk on a British talk show (Development Drums)
http://developmentdrums.org/wp-content/uploads/DD42-Transcript.pdf ,
and read Angus Deaton’s review of the book “American Hubris, African Nemisis”. The
Lancet, Vol 383, PP 297-298 (Jan 25, 2014)
http://www.princeton.edu/~deaton/downloads/american%20hubris%20african%20nem
esis%20lancet%202014.pdf
2. Respond to six “puzzle” questions focused on lectures and related readings. These will be
given at the end of specific classes; responses will be discussed briefly at the beginning of
the next class, including (volunteer) presentation. Please also bring your (3-minute/3slide). Please bring your own “puzzles” into the class (6 written outputs, also class
presentations) 25%
3. Prepare a country case study, focusing on development diagnostics and one or two high
profile policy questions, taking up issues discussed over the course of the class. These will
be presented in a special session of the class. You can work alone or in teams of two. 40%
4. Class participation—and you can’t participate if you don’t come! 10%
Course Outline
This a new course and we may adjust or reschedule topics as the course proceeds, also
based on your feedback regarding specific interests and preferences. The current class
timings are only estimates: there is a lot of material to cover and only a limited number of
class sessions.
The first half of the class (topics 1-4) focuses on conceptual building blocks, including
measurement and data, as well as global debates around aid, inequality and economic
growth. The second half looks in greater depth at a subset of key contemporary challenges
for reducing poverty and inequality—reaching the poorest, market failures and the role of
ethnicity and social identity; strengthening education and skills; global health concerns
including HIV and recent epidemics; urbanization, labor mobility and employment
diversification; access to infrastructure with a particular focus on energy (pricing and
subsidies); and finally the role of good governance and institutions, grand and not-so-grand
corruption. The readings for the first four topics are fairly well-defined, although I may add
some more specific case studies and country examples. I will flesh out the reading list for
the second half of the course--focusing more on case studies and examples, less on research
papers—based on your feedback.
Active participation, and early and frequent feedback will make the course fun and
rewarding for all of us.
Introduction: Setting the Stage—the Challenge of Global Development (1 class)
How do we measure development? How have countries evolved over time in terms of
development performance?
Deaton, The Great Escape. Introduction and Chapter 1.
Easterly, The Elusive Quest for Growth, Chapter 1
Visit www.gapminder.org website, go to “Gapminder World” page and experiment with the
data. View at least on of Hans Rosling’s Ted Talks, particularly this one
(http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_see)
Additional suggested readings:
Debraj Ray, Development Economics, Chapter 2
World Bank (2014) Highlights: World Development Indicators. World Bank, Washington DC.
http://data.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/wdi2014-highlights.pdf
Topic 1: Measuring Development, Poverty, and Vulnerability (2 classes)
What does it mean to be poor?
What methods (and data) are used to measure poverty and vulnerability?
What are big global and national debates around poverty measurement and monitoring?
Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo (2006). “Economic Lives of the Poor”. Journal of
Economic Perspectives 21, No. 1: 141-161
Angus Deaton (2006). Chapter 1 “Measuring Poverty” in Banerjee, Benabou, and
Mookherjee
Handout on poverty measurement (Deaton).
Martin Ravallion (1992). Poverty Comparisons: A Guide to Concepts and Methods. LSMS
Working Paper No. 88, The World Bank. Sections 1, 2: esp. pp 1-48
Stefan Dercon (2005). “Vulnerability: A Micro Perspective”. Paper presented at the 2005
ABCDE Conference.
Global poverty estimates are described on the POVCALNET website of the World Bank
http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm?0,2
“A Wealth of Data”, Economics Focus in the Economist, July 29, 2010.
http://www.economist.com/node/16693283
Laurence Chandy and Geoffrey Gertz, 2011. “Two Trends in Global Poverty”. Opinion: May
17, 2011. http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2011/05/17-global-povertytrends-chandy
On the MDGs and post-2015 SDG debates:
Easterly on the MDGs: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-easterly/its-over-thetragedy-of-t_b_226120.html
Abhijit Banerjee and Varad Pande, 2014. “How to Prioritize U.N. Goals” Op-ed in the New
York Times Opinion Pages, Sept 10, 2014.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/opinion/how-to-prioritize-un-goals.html
Additional suggested readings:
Abhijit Banerjee, 2008. “Why Fighting Poverty is Hard”.
http://economics.mit.edu/files/6605
World Bank, 2002. Poverty in India: the Challenge of Uttar Pradesh, Poverty Reduction and
Economic Management Unit, South Asia Region. Chapter 2.
Valerie Kozel and Barbara Parker, 1999. “Poverty in India: the Contribution of Qualitative
Research to Poverty Analysis”, World Bank.
*Valerie Kozel, 2014. Well Begun but Not Yet Done: Poverty and Emerging Challenges for
Poverty Reduction in Vietnam, World Bank. Introduction, Chapters 2 and 3.
Shubham Chaudhuri, 2003. “Assessing Vulnerability to Poverty: Concepts, Empirical
Examples, and Illustrative Examples”, Department of Economics, Columbia University.
http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/97185/Keny_0304/Ke_0304/vulnerabilityassessment.pdf
Stefan Dercon, keynote presentation at 2013 ABCDE Conference, Jun 3-4, Washington DC.
Topic 2: The Big Picture—Growth and Rising Prosperity (2 classes)
Why have some countries become rich while other remain persistently poor? What does
(growth) theory say about why some countries prosper while others do not? Is theory
consistent with practice?
Easterly, The Elusive Quest for Growth, Chapters 2 and 3
Deaton, The Great Escape, Chapter 6
Abhijit Banerjee, 2008. “Big Answers for Big Questions: the Presumption of
Macroeconomics”, paper presented at the Brookings Global Economy and Development
Conference—“What Works in Development? Thinking Big and Thinking Small”, May 21st.
Also see Easterly’s comments (same conference) on Banerjee’s “Big Answers for Big
Questions”
Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo (2011). Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way
to Fight Global Poverty. Public Affairs. Chapter 1
Estevadeordal, A. and A.M. Taylor (2013). “Is the Washington Consensus dead? Growth,
openness and the Great Liberalization, 1970s–2000s.” Review of Economics and Statistics
Coxhead, I., T.T. Phung and C. Lian (2015). “Lucky countries? Internal and external sources
of Southeast Asian growth since 1970.” In I Coxhead, (ed): Routledge Handbook of Southeast
Asian Economics, Ch. 4.
Additional Suggested Readings
Lant Pritchett (1995). Divergence, Big Time. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper
1522, World Bank (quick read to get the main point)
Dwight Perkins, Steve Radelet, David Lindauer, and Steven Block (2013. Economics of
Development, W.W. Norton and Co. Chapter 4
Topic 3: What can Aid Do? (1-2 classes)
What works in promoting good development? What has been the impact of 50 years
billions spent on aid?
William Easterly, The Elusive Quest for Growth, Chapter 6: “The Loans that Were, the Growth
that Wasn’t”
Deaton, The Great Escape, Chapter 7: “How to Help Those Left Behind”
Jeffrey Sachs, Sept 2005. “Can Extreme Poverty be Eliminated”, Scientific American
Bill Easterly, March 2006. “The Big Push Déjà Vu” a review of Jeffrey Sacks “The end of
Poverty”. Journal of Economic Literature
Banerjee and Duflo, Poor Economics, Chapter 10
Dani Rodrik (2008). “The New Development Economics: We Shall Experiment, But How
Shall we Learn?”, paper presented at the Brookings Global Economy and Development
Conference—“What Works in Development? Thinking Big and Thinking Small”, May 21st.
To see what happens when Hollywood meets Development, look at a short video describing
a Jeffrey Sacks-Angelina Jolie visit to the Millennium Villages in Africa at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUHf_kOUM74
Also a short but less flashy statement by Bill Easterly on two tragedies in Africa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzy8dafM89E
Topic 4: Inequality (1-2 classes)
How is inequality measured, and what are national and global trends?
Is inequality “bad”? What are “good” and “bad” sources of inequality and what—if
anything—should policy makers do about inequality?
(Review) Angus Deaton, The Great Escape, particularly Chapters 5 and 6
World Bank (2006). World Development Report (WDR) 2006: Equity and Development.
Introduction, also Chapters 2, 3 if time permits
“For Richer, For Poorer”, Special Report on the World Economy in the Economist, Oct 13,
2012. http://www.economist.com/node/21564414
Debraj Ray, 1998. Development Economics. Princeton University Press, Chapter 6
Additional suggested readings:
Branco Milanovic (2006). “Global Income Inequality: A Review”, World Economics, Vol 7,
No. 1
World Bank (2105). Addressing Inequality in South Asia. South Asia Development Matters,
World Bank Group. Read the Introduction, also Chapters 1-2 if time permits (and you have
a particular interesting in South Asia)
Thomas Piketty (2014). Capital in the Twenty-first Century. Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press. Introduction only.
Part II (Proposed) CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES AND DEBATES
Topic 5: Reaching the Poorest (2 classes)
Coming soon!
Topic 6: Investing in People: Education and Health (1-2 classes)
Coming soon!
Topic 7: Energy Access, Subsidies and Pricing (1 class)
Coming soon!
Topic 8: Urban Poverty and Migration (1 class)
Coming soon!
Topic 9: Government Failures, Corruption and Elite Capture (1 class)
Coming soon