New York University
Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
&
Universidade Federal da Bahia
Escola de Administração - Núcleo de Pós-Graduação em Administração
Institutions, Governance, and International Development (IGID)
PADM-GP2201-001 / UFBA Code: ADM-B94
Jan 2012
This version: Dec 20th 2011
Instructors:
Salo Coslovsky
Puck, 3096 - salo.coslovsky@nyu.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Sandro Cabral
UFBA – scabral@ufba.br
Office Hours: By appointment
Course description
This course introduces students to the theory and practice of institutional reform in developing
countries. International development became a global concern in the 1940s and 1950s, as the
world grappled with the end of the World War II, decolonization in Africa and Asia, and the
establishment of international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the
International Monetary Fund.
Since then, progress has been uneven. On one hand, many economies have transformed
themselves. The proportion of the global population living in absolute poverty has decreased
considerably and access to basic capabilities has increased, particularly in large countries such as
Brazil, Russia, India and China. On the other hand, problems still abound. Nowadays,
industrialization coexists with environmental degradation; urbanization with spatial exclusion;
medical breakthroughs with drug resistance; and technological innovation with illiteracy.
The challenge of development remains enormous, and the meaning, ethics, and appropriateness
of this enterprise continue to be highly political and therefore hotly contested. Not surprisingly,
reasonable people disagree on what development is, what should be pursued first, how it ought to
be done, and who should pay the costs and reap the benefits. The field of international
development is overwhelmingly large, and this course carves out a narrow slice of this larger pie. It
does not offer blueprints, pre-packaged tools, ready-to-use frameworks or any one-right-answer.
Rather, it directs students to go beyond easy dichotomies and search for the levers of change that
matter, particularly concerning the governing of the economy. Of course, it is much easier to
criticize other people’s ideas than to suggest something new, pragmatic, and likely to work.
Rigorous analysis is essential to this task, but at the end of the day we must be creative to find
opportunities for constructive action. Readings, discussions and exercises will help in this task.
The course is composed of four modules. The first module offers a brief survey of the history of
development thinking, leading to the contemporary emphasis on institutions and governance. The
second module introduces the concept of “institutions” and examines whether, and in which ways,
some are conducive and others are detrimental to development, and how an economy can acquire
those institutions it needs to thrive. The third module explores the challenges of governance, i.e.
the processes and structures that a society adopts to manage its collective affairs. The course
concludes with a glimpse of the path ahead.
1
Course objective
By the end of the course students will:
1. Understand the evolution of the theory and practice of international economic development,
including current trends and challenges;
2. Acquire a critical perspective on blueprints, received wisdoms and other misconceptions
prevalent in international development thinking;
3. Identify some of the roles played by national and local governments, private businesses,
NGOs, citizens and international organizations in promoting economic development;
4. Think analytically and strategically about existing levers of institutional reform, improved
governance and opportunities for pragmatic change;
5. Be a step closer to becoming reflective practitioners, i.e. professionals endowed with a
sophisticated grasp of the art, science, opportunities, limits and dangers of action in the
international development sphere
Requirements
The grade will be based on course participation, an in-class exercise (midterm presentation) and a
final group exercise, as indicated below:
10% Book or movie review (due Dec 30th)
20% Course Participation (10% in class & 10% site visits)
30% In-class exercise / midterm (due Jan 13th)
40% Final project (due Jan 31st)
The book / movie review is a preliminary exercise designed to help students get acquainted with
the concepts and challenges examined in the course before we meet in Bahia. It is take-home and
can be written individually, in pairs or trios. Students will chose either a book or a movie from a list
and write a 3-page memo (see formatting below) answering some study questions.
Active course participation means coming to class and to site visits prepared to engage in a
thoughtful and reflective discussion, and being able to ask good questions at least as much as
being able to answer them. Quality of participation is more important than quantity, but these two
are often correlated. Do not be afraid to speak up if you have something meaningful to say and do
not wait too long to do it. Shyness increases with time, so do not let it sink in.
The in-class exercise (midterm) and the final project are open book and open notes applied, broadranging exercises in which students are asked to propose viable and well-argued solutions to
practical problems of international development. Answers should follow the format highlighted
below, and additional details will follow.
Format and submission:
All assignments should be written on Times New Roman size 12, doubled-spaced lines (not 1.5),
one inch margins all around. Please submit them as .pdf or .doc (not .docx).
2
The assignments must include citations in the text and a bibliography at the end of the document.
Use the following format for citations: if you are citing an idea or a concept, include (author’s last
name year) immediately after the passage, once per paragraph. If you are transcribing a passage,
include the page number. For instance:
“…this type of engagement has been called responsive (Ayres and Braithwaite
1992, Braithwaite 2005), flexible (Bardach and Kagan 1982), tit-for-tat (Scholz
1984), creative (May and Burby 1998), and adaptive (Hawkins 1984).”
Use footnotes instead of endnotes.
Please remember to include your mailbox number in the paper and use the following convention to
name your files: IGID [your lastname] [assignment]
For instance: IGID Alvarez 1st memo.doc
To submit your assignments, go to: http://www.dropitto.me/salocoslovsky. From there, you can
upload the file directly to my computer. You will need a password, which I will distribute in class.
Grading Policy:
There is no curve in this course. Everyone may receive an A or everyone may receive an F.
Grades for the different items / assignments vary on a scale of 0 (zero) to 10 (ten), in which zero is
absolute failure and 10 is a perfect score. Students who fail to submit the required assignments will
automatically receive an F for the course, unless they ask for (and are granted) an incomplete. At
the end of the course, we use the weights listed below to calculate your final score, and convert it
to a letter grade (for NYU students) according to the following table:
Numeric Grade
Letter Grade
Incomplete
Incomplete
<4.00
F
4.00 – 5.00
C
5.00 – 6.00
B6.00 – 7.00
B
7.00 – 8.00
B+
8.00 – 9.00
A>9.00
A
(borderline cases will be decided based on contribution to the class)
(For UFBA students, grades will follow the regular 0 (zero) to 10 (ten) scale)
We do not look forward to failing any student. If you are having difficulty keeping up, talk to us so
we can devise a remedial plan for you to catch up and, hopefully, excel in the course.
Late Policy and Incompletes
Extensions will be granted only in case of emergency. This policy is adopted out of respect to
those who have abided by deadlines, despite equally hectic schedules. Papers handed in late
without extensions will be penalized 0.25 points per day. For more information on the official school
3
policy, see Wagner’s website: http://wagner.nyu.edu/students/policies/incompletes.php . The same
rules apply to UFBA students enrolled in this course.
A note on academic integrity and plagiarism
We take matters of academic integrity very seriously. It is your responsibility to identify quotes and
to cite facts and borrowed ideas. If you need guidance, please consult the NYU-Wagner Academic
Code (http://wagner.nyu.edu/students/policies/) and additional references listed there. You may
also consult tutors (if available by email), or the designated librarian at Bobst. Naturally, you may
consult the instructors at any time. Please note that NYU-Wagner subscribes to a commercial
service that compares papers to a gigantic database to flag plagiarism. We will refer all cases of
plagiarism to the appropriate disciplinary committee, either at Wagner or at the student’s home
school, including UFBA.
Classroom Etiquette
Come prepared to engage with your fellow students, professor, and the material to be discussed.
We assume everyone has read the articles and chapters indicated in this syllabus. We may start
the class by asking a student to summarize the main points so come prepared. If you have
professional (or personal) experience relevant to the discussion, share it with the class. In the past,
students have said that learning from colleagues with field experience was a highlight.
Many people bring their laptops or tablets / iPads to class. That is fine if you are taking notes or
sporadically consulting relevant materials online. Access to internet can be handy to find data or
settle a factual dispute. However, do not navigate the web, check your facebook page, post on
twitter, read the news, respond to email or conduct any activity not directly related to the class. We
will not be seeing your screen, but those sitting next to you will, and aimless navigation can be
distracting. Please respect your colleagues and keep your focus. If you are seen surfing the net or
e-mailing during class sessions you will lose laptop privileges for the remainder of the course.
Remember, using these devices in the classroom is a privilege, not a right.
Finally, occasional absences are tolerated and do not need justification. Systematic nonattendance will affect your grade and may lead to an F or Incomplete
Social networks and other digital resources
In case you want to connect, this is my policy regarding social networks:

Twitter: Professor Salo Coslovsky posts occasionally, in both English and Portuguese, on
anything that strikes his fancy. Follow him at your peril.

Linkedin: Professor Salo Coslovsky would be happy to connect, feel free to send him a
request

Facebook: Professor Salo Coslovsky reserves it for personal use. He’d be happy to connect
after graduation (please indicate that you have already graduated if / when you send the
friend request)

Although young, Professor Sandro Cabral is old-fashioned. You can reach him through
scabral@ufba.br
4
Readings
In the past, students have asked for a textbook. There are some textbooks devoted to international
development out there, but as far as we know none of them covers the materials we cover in this
course. This is not necessarily a coincidence or a market opportunity. Rather, it is an indication that
international development remains a contested field, without a main corpus of agreed upon
theories, and therefore filled with hopes and possibilities.
In the past, we have tried to organize a Course Packet with all the assigned readings for purchase.
However, the final product ended up being quite costly (copyrights and all) and the actual copies
were sometimes of low quality. To keep costs low, we prioritize articles instead of books (copyright
is covered by the library. i.e. tuition) and we post all readings on BlackBoard (BB).
Assigned readings cover a wide range of topics. Authors come from different countries and
represent different political positions, academic disciplines and research traditions. Some texts may
seem old, but to dismiss them would be a mistake. They are assigned because they make
important points that remain valid, or are the original articulation of a powerful idea.
Students come to this course with diverse interests and heterogeneous backgrounds. The syllabus
includes a range of optional readings to help more advanced students advance even further. Feel
free to read any selection of the optional readings. Bringing them up in class knowledgeably will
boost your participation grade. Some of the optional readings are on BB, others are online, and
some may require a visit to the library. Throughout the course, more and more of these readings
will be posted on BB. Also, as the course progresses, we may identify additional readings or news
articles relevant to the discussion. This means that the reading list is a living document, and will
improve over time. If you run into articles that are relevant, bring them to our attention and we’ll be
happy to circulate them to the class.
This course in context
This is an introductory course and therefore it does not include some important, often cited, and
sometimes-controversial topics related to international development. Many of these topics are
covered in the more than thirty international development courses offered both at Wagner and
UFBA, including PADM-GP.2202: Politics of International Development with John Gershman,
PADM-GP.2203: International Economic Development with Jonathan Morduch, PADM-GP.2204:
Development Assistance: Accountability and Effectiveness with John Gershman and Paul Smoke,
PADM-GP.2226: Protecting Rights and Promoting Development with Salo Coslovsky, HPAMGP.1831: Introduction to Global Health Policy with Karen Grepin, and URPL-GP.2665:
Decentralized Development Planning and Policy Reform in Developing Countries with Paul Smoke.
Other faculty at NYU who teach courses relevant to international development are Rosalind
Fredericks (Gallatin) and Dana Burde (Steinhardt, affiliated Wagner). Make sure to check their
course offerings.
At UFBA, you might be interested in ADM-E50 Tópicos Especiais em Política Mundial e
Organizações Internacionais with Ruthy Laniado, ADM-646 Política e Integração Internacional with
Elsa Kraychette, ADM-B94 Tópicos Especiais em Desenvolvimento e Sociedade with Maria
Teresa Franco Ribeiro, and ADM-B87 Gestão Contemporânea das Organizações with Sandro
Cabral, . The full list of international development courses and pre-approved NYU-wide
development electives is available at http://wagner.nyu.edu/courses/listings.php?subc=intdev or at
UFBA´s secretary.
5
Class dynamics, how to read academic articles and other good habits of mind
Classes will be a mix of lecture, discussion, and applied exercises. All classes (and practically all
readings) will mix theory (i.e. general rules) and practice (i.e. concrete cases), and these two will
systematically inform each other. We are aware that students sometimes complain about “too
much theory”. In our view, this is rarely the real problem. Rather, this type of complain indicates
that the theory under review does not explain the phenomenon at hand or clarify the course ahead.
In these cases, the challenge is not to have less theory, but to have better theory. We will explore
this tension in class.
Living with anxiety: Sometimes students point out that this course is a reality check / shock that
dismantles prior certainties and policy beliefs. Albeit disconcerting (even upsetting), this is often a
step in the right direction. Yet, nihilism is not the goal. In addition to criticizing other people’s ideas,
students should strive to ask the questions that allows one to make meaningful distinctions, identify
relevant variables, and devise better theories and interventions.
Reading academic articles: Academic articles are a diverse genre. Some may flow like a
compelling novel while others are dry and filled with jargon and complex equations. Independent
on the writing style of the author or the tools of the discipline, your task is to identify the main
problem or research question; the method deployed by the author(s) to answer the question, and
the conclusion. Do not be sidetracked by side points and minor details.
Politics of development: Issues of power, inequality, and minority representation are interspersed
throughout the course. Whenever we discuss a new theory or element of the development puzzle,
you should try to identify who preserves, gains or loses decision power, who benefits from the
change, which existing alliances get disrupted and which new ones get created.
Also, do not fall prey to the easy dichotomy of identifying everything that comes from abroad or are
of a different persuasion than “the local people” as colonialist, detrimental, abusive, imperialist or
exploitative, and everything that is home-grown as genuine, selfless and beneficial. In the real
world, there is plenty of exploitation within countries, conducted by otherwise equals. Likewise,
there is plenty of positive change triggered and supported by foreign entities and individuals. To be
able to identify (and possibly create) cross-cutting alliances is a crucial skill for anyone interested in
understanding and promoting development.
Along similar lines, students sometimes advocate for everything local and participatory. These tend
to be good things, but as warlords, ward bosses, “caciques”, “coronéis”, and other incarnations of
the local autocrat have repeatedly shown, not everything local is wholesome, selfless, and
beneficial to the poor. Moreover, what some people define as development can be disruptive to
others, and these people will surely oppose the change. Do not forget the politics.
Additional Resources
The Wagner School, NYU, NPGA and UFBA provide plenty of resources to help students excel in
their coursework. This course will not have a Teaching Assistant on site, and its compressed
nature will not allow for regular consultation with peer advisors or Wagner tutors. However, the
following website lists several online resources (including details on how to avoid plagiarism and
cite properly): http://wagner.nyu.edu/students/services/writing.php. Also, make sure to read the
document titled “How to write a memo”, available on that same webpage and on this link:
http://wagner.nyu.edu/students/services/files/WritingMemos.pdf
6
Getting up to speed, moving forward
If you want to learn more about international development prior to this course, want to regain
fluency, or simply want to survey the field, you can read a selection of the books below, listed in no
particular order, and accessible to a general audience:
These books are optional / recommended for your enjoyment and general education.
They are not part of the course and will not be discussed in class

Amsdem, Alice, Escape from Empire: The Developing World's Journey through Heaven and
Hell, (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007).

Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done
About It

William Easterly, The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in
the Tropics

Paul Farmer, Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor

Albert Hirschman, Development Projects Observed

Charles Kenny, Getting Better: Why Global Development Is Succeeding--And How We Can
Improve the World Even More

Sachs, Jeffrey, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, (New York, NY:
Penguin Press, 2005).

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight
Global Poverty

Robert Tignor, W. Arthur Lewis and the Birth of Development Economics

Sebastian Mallaby, The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the
Wealth and Poverty of Nations
7
Course Schedule
Date
8:30 to 10:00AM
10:15 to 12:00PM
Afternoon
15 Dec
Thu
n/d
n/d
Introduction (4:00PM NY) –
NYU students only
4 Jan
Wed n/d
n/d
Reception / Cocktail
5 Jan
Thu
Modernization /
Dependency
Market Reforms /
Developmental State
6 Jan
Fri
Institutions
Rule of law
SENAI Cimatec
(2:00 to 5:00PM)
Sec Mun. de Desenvimento
Urbano, Habitação e Meio
Ambiente (SEDHAM)
7 Jan
Sat
Optional: Praia do Forte
(PF)
PF
PF
8 Jan
Sun
PF
PF
PF
9 Jan
Mon
Public - Private
Partnerships
PPP (continued)
PSF Camaçari
10 Jan
Tue
Public Sector Reform
Decentralization
UPP Calabar
11 Jan
Wed
Anti-Corruption (8:30 as
9:15)
Collective Action /
Community Participation
Feira de Santana (11:00AM)
12 Jan
Thu
Lavagem do Bonfim
Lavagem do Bonfim
Lavagem do Bonfim
13 Jan
Fri
Accountability in a
Patrimonial State
Midterm
Conclusion
31 Jan
Tue
Debriefing (*)
(final project is due)
(*) Exact time TBA
8
Readings
Introduction to Brazil
Anderson, Perry, Lula’s Brazil, London Review of Books, Vol. 33 No. 7 · 31 March 2011, pages 312 – http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n07/perry-anderson/lulas-brazil
Falling in love again with the state, The Economist, March 31st 2010,
http://www.economist.com/node/15816646
Filling up the future, The Economist, Nov 5th 2011, http://www.economist.com/node/21536570
I - Historical overview: Theory and practice of institutional reform in developing countries
A – The Role of Government: Modernization and Dependency Theories
Rostow, W. 1959. The Stages of Economic Growth, The Economic History Review, vol 12, n 1, pp
1-16
Frank, Andre Gunder (1966) “The Development of Underdevelopment,” Monthly Review 18:17-31.
Recommended: Planning for Growth
Lewis, Arthur. 1954. “Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labor.” Manchester
School of Economics and Social Studies, 22(May), 139–91.
Munk, Nina, Jeffrey Sachs’ US$200 Billion Dream, Vanity Fair, 2007
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/07/sachs200707
W. Easterly, “The Big Push Déjà Vu: A Review of Jeffrey Sachs’ The End of Poverty: Economic
Possibilities for Our Time,” Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 64 (March 2006), pp. 96-105.
Interview with Dr. Normam Borlag: http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/podcasts/BorlaugMexico.m4v
Easterly, William, 1997. "The Ghost of Financing Gap : How the Harrod-Domar growth model Still
Haunts Development Economics," Policy Research Working Paper Series No. 1807, (Washington,
DC: The World Bank, 1997).
Haefele, Mark, “Walt Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth: Ideas and Action,” in Engerman, David
C. Nils Gilman, Mark Haefele and Michael Latham(eds.) Staging Growth: Modernization,
Development, and the Global Cold War (Amherst, MA: UMass Press, 2003), pp. 81-97.
Kuznets, Simon, “Economic Growth and Income Inequality,” American Economic Review, Vol. 45
(1955), pp. 1-28
Rosenstein-Rodan, Paul. 1963. Problems of Industrialization of Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
The Economic Journal, vol.53, no 210/211 (Jun-Sep 1943), pp 202-211
Rich, Sam, Africa's Village of Dreams, Wilson Quarterly, 2007
9
Recommended: Dependency and the Latin American School
Alexander Hamilton, “Report on Manufactures” Annals of Congress, December 5, 1791.
Hirschman, Albert. The Political Economy of Import-Substituting Industrialization in Latin America.
The Quarterly Journal of Economics Vol. 82, No. 1 (Feb., 1968), pp. 1-32
Evans, Peter (1979) Dependent Development: The Alliance of Multinational, State, and Local
Capital in Brazil, Princeton University Press
Gunder Frank, Andre, “Economic Genocide in Chile: An Open Letter to Milton Friedman and
Arnold Harberger.” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 11 (1976), no. 24, pp. 880-888.
Clapp, R.A Creating competitive advantage: Forest policy as industrial policy in Chile. Economic
Geography, 71(3), 273-296
Amsdem, Alice, Escape from Empire: The Developing World's Journey through Heaven and Hell,
(Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007).
Santos, Theotonio Dos (1993) The Structure of Dependence, Development and
Underdevelopment: The Political Economy of Inequality, M. A. Seligson and J. T. Passé-Smith,
Boulder, Lynne Rienner Publishers: 193-202
Chang, Ha Joon, Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective,
(Anthem Press, 2003).
Waterbury, John (1999). “The Long Gestation and Brief Triumph of Import-Substituting
Industrialization." World Development, 27(2), 323-341.
B – The rise (and decline) of market supremacy / The Developmental State
Krueger, Anne. “Government Failures in Development,” Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol. 4
(1990), No. 3, pp. 9-23.
Recommended: Market Reforms
Williamson, J. 1993. “Democracy and the Washington Consensus.” World Development. Vol. 21,
No. 8. Pages 1329-1336
Passell, Peter, Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Shock Therapist, New York Times Magazine, June 27, 1993
Dominguez, Jorge, Technopols: Ideas and Leaders in Freeing Politics and Markets in Latin
America in the 1990s, Working Paper, Harvard
Klein, Naomi. (2007). The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. New York:
Metropolitan Books. Chapters 2-3 (p. 49-97).
Bradford, J. a. B. E. (1993). The Marshall Plan: History's Most Successful Structural Adjustment
Programme. Postwar Economic Reconstruction and Lessons for the East Today. W. N. Rudiger
Dornbusch, and Richard Layard. Cambridge, MIT Press: 189-230.
10
Krueger, Anne. "The Political Economy of the Rent-Seeking Society," American Economic Review,
Vol. 64, No. 3 (1974), pp. 291-303
Sachs, Jeffrey. Poland's Jump to the Market Economy (Lionel Robbins Lectures). Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press, 1994).
Gore, Charles. “The Rise and Fall of the Washington Consensus as a Paradigm for Developing
Countries,” World Development, Vol. 28 (2000), No. 5, pp. 789-804.
Williamson J. "In Search of a Manual for Technopols" in The Political Economy of Policy Reform,
edited by J. Williamson. (Washington, DC : Institute for International Economics, 1994, pp. 9-28).
MacLean, Brian K. (1999) The Rise and Fall of the “Crony Capitalism” Hypothesis: Causes and
Consequences, Working paper
Finnegan, William, 2003, The Economics of Empire: Notes on the Washington Consensus,
Harper's Magazine (May)
Recommended: The Developmental State
Evans, Peter (1995) Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation. Princeton
University Press chapters 1 and 3
Shapiro, Helen. 1994. Engines of growth: the state and transnational auto companies in Brazil.
Cambridge [England]; New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.
Sikkink, Kathryn, Ideas and Institutions: Developmentalism in Brazil and Argentina, Cornell Press
Pisano, Gary, Willy C. Shih, Restoring American Competitiveness, Harvard Business Review, 2009
C. A. Hidalgo, B. Klinger, A.-L. Barabási and R. Hausmann, The Product Space Conditions the
Development of Nations, Science, 2007
Amsden, A. H. 2001. The rise of "the rest": challenges to the west from late-industrializing
economies. New York: Oxford University Press (paperback 2004). Chapter 1 (pp.1-28) and
Chapter 8 (pp.190-220)
Wade, R. 2005. Escaping the Squeeze: Lessons on How Middle Income Countries Can Grow
Faster. In B. Laperche. John Kenneth Galbraith and the Future of Economics. London: Palgrave.
Lin, Justin Yifu and Célestin Monga, Growth Identification and Facilitation: The Role of the State in
the Dynamics of Structural Change, The World Bank, Development Economics, Office of the Vice
President, May 2010
Kim, L. 1998. Crisis Construction and Organizational Learning: Capability Building in Catching Up
at Hyundai Motor. Organization Science. 9(4)
Wade, Robert, Governing the Market: Economic Theory and the Role of Government in East Asian
Industrialization, Princeton University Press, 1990, chapters 1, 3 and 4
11
Chalmers, Johnson, MITI and the Japanese Miracle, Stanford University Press, 1982, chapters 1
and 2
Mkandawire, Thandika (2001). The Need to Rethink Development Economics, Draft paper
prepared for the discussion at the UNRISD meeting, 7-8 September 2001, Cape Town, South
Africa
Bagchi, Amiya Kumar (2000), The Past and the Future of the Developmental State, Journal of
World-Systems Research, VI, 2, Summer/Fall 2000, 398-442
Lin, Justin Yifu, Six Steps for Strategic Government Intervention, Global Policy Volume 1. Issue 3 .
October 2010
Wade, Robert, What Strategies Are Viable for Developing Countries Today? The World Trade
Organization and the Shrinking of ‘Development Space’, Working Paper no.31, June 2003
Huang, Yasheng, Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics: Entrepreneurship and the State,
Cambridge University Press, 2008
Hausmann, Ricardo, The Other Hand: High Bandwidth Development Policy, CID Working Paper
No. 179, September 2008
Wade, Robert, After the Crisis: Industrial Policy and the Developmental State in Low-Income
Countries, May 2010
Chang, Ha Joon and Peter Evans, The Role of Institutions in Economic Change, Paper prepared
for the meeting of the “Other Canon” group, Venice, Italy, January 13 - 14, 2000 http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/faculty/chang/c&e-pdf.pdf
Rodrik, Dani, “Goodbye Washington Consensus, Hello Washington Confusion,” Journal of
Economic Literature, Vol. 44 (2006), pp. 973-987.
II - Institutions: Shaping the rules of the economic game
A – Institutions: definitions, functions and change
North, D. Institutions, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 5, No. 1. (Winter, 1991), pp. 97112.
Acemoglu, D., S. Johnson and J. Robinson. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development:
An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, 2001, v.91 (5), pp. 1369-1401. (skim for
main points, do not get sidetracked by methodological wizardry)
Rodrik, Dani. Second-Best Institutions, The American Economic Review, Vol. 98, No. 2, Papers
and Proceedings of the One Hundred Twentieth Annual Meeting of the American Economic
Association (May, 2008), pp.100-104
12
Recommended: Institutions
Williamson, Oliver E. The New Institutional Economics: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead, Journal of
Economic Literature, 38:3 (Sept 2000), pp 595-613
Przeworski, Adam “Institutions Matter?” Government and Opposition, Vol. 39 (2004), No. 4, pp.
527–540.
Henry, Peter and Conrad Miller. "Institutions versus Policies: A Tale of Two Islands," American
Economic Review, Vol. 99 (2009), No. 2, pp. 261-67.
Kennedy, David, 1991, The Stakes of Law, or Hale and Foucault!, Working Paper
Hausman, Ricardo, Lant Prittchett, and Dani Rodrik, Growth Accelerations, NBER Working Paper
no 10566, June 2004
McDermott, Gerald A. “Recombining the Vines That Bind in Argentina: The Politics of Institutional
Renovation and Economic Upgrading”, Politics Society, 2007, 35: 103
Arruñada, Benito (2007) Pitfalls to Avoid when Measuring Institutions: Is Doing Business
Damaging Business? Journal of Comparative Economics, 2007, 35(4), 729-47
B – Rule of Law
Romer, Paul. Technologies, Rules, and Progress: The Case for Charter Cities. (Washington, DC:
The Center for Global Development, 2010), available at
www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/1423916
Upham, Frank, “Mythmaking in the Rule of Law Orthodoxy,” Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace Working Paper No. 30 (Rule of Law Series), September 2002.
Recommended: Rule of Law
Macaulay, S. “Non-contractual Relations in Business: A Preliminary Study.” American Sociological
Review, Vol. 28 (1963), No. 1, pp 55-67.
Bittner, Police on Skid Row: A study of peace keeping, American Sociological Review
Vol. 32, No. 5 (Oct., 1967), pp. 699-715
Dowdle, Michael, “Beyond the Regulatory State: China and ‘Rule of Law’ in a Post-Fordist World,”
Governance and Globalization Working Paper Series No. 21 (Beijing: Sciences Po in China, 2010).
Cardozo, Benjamin, The Nature of the Judicial Process,
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/CARDOZO/CarNat.html
III - Governance: governing structures, processes, and functions
A – Public – Private Partnerships
Hodge, G. A. & Greve, C. (2007) Public-Private Partnerships: An International Performance
Review. Public Administration Review, 67(3): 545-558;
13
Cabral, S. Lazzarini, S. G. and Azevedo, P.F. 2011. Private entrepreneurs in public services: A
longitudinal examination of outsourcing and statization of prisons, Strategic Entrepreneurship
Journal, forthcoming
Hart, O., Shleifer, A. and Vishny, R.W. 1997. The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an
Application to Prisons. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(4): 1127-1161
B - Public Sector Reform
National Performance Review: Reinventing Government (skim only)
Majeeda, Rushda, Strengthening Public Administration: Brazil 1995-1998, Innovations for
Successful Societies, Princeton University
Tendler, "Tales of Dissemination in Small-farm Agriculture: Lessons for Institution Builders." World
Development 21, No. 10 (October 1993, lead article), pp. 1567-1582.
Recommended on public sector reform
Dixit, Avinash, Incentives and Organizations in the Public Sector: An Interpretative Review, The
Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 37, No. 4. (Autumn, 2002), pp. 696-727.
Williamson, OE, Public and private bureaucracies: a transaction cost economics perspectives,
Journal of Law Economics & Organization; Mar 1999
Leeds, Elizabeth (2007), Serving States and Serving Citizens: Halting Steps toward Police Reform
in Brazil and Implications for Donor Intervention, Policing & Society, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 21-37
Schneider and Heredia, Politics of Administrative Reform in Developing Countries (REF?)
Gaetani, Francisco, The Intriguing Brazilian Administrative Reform, draft
Gaetani, Francisco and Bianca Heredia, The Political Economy of Civil Service Reform in Brazil:
The Cardoso Years (Draft), October 2002
C – Decentralization
Smoke, Paul “Decentralization in Africa: Goals, Dimensions, Myths and Challenges,” Public
Administration and Development, Vol. 23, No. 1 (2003), pp. 1-17.
Tendler, Judith. Good Government in the Tropics, (Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press,
1997), chapters 1 and 2.
Recommended: Decentralization
Iskander, Natasha, Creative State: Forty Years of Migration and Development Policy. (Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press, 2010), Chapter1 and 5: “Introduction” and “Practice and Power.”
Sanyal, Bishwapriya. "The Myth of Development From Below." Mimeo. Department of Urban
Studies & Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996
14
Grindle, Merilee, Going Local: Decentralization, Democratization, and the Promise of Good
Governance, Princeton University Press, 2009
Heller, Patrick, “Moving the State: The Politics of Democratic Decentralization in Kerala, South
Africa, and Porto Alegre,” Politics & Society, Vol. 29 (2001), No. 1.
D – Anti-corruption
Mauro, Paolo, (1995) “Corruption and Growth”, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 110, No.
3, Aug - http://www.jstor.org/pss/2946696 (skim for main points)
Ehrenhalt, Alan (2002). “The Paradox of Corrupt Yet Effective Leadership.” The New York Times.
September 30, p. A25.
Ellwood, John, Patashnik, Eric (1993). "In Praise of Pork." The Public Interest (110):19-33.
How it plays out in Brazil (highly recommended):
Alston, Lee J. and Mueller, B,. 2006. Pork for Policy: Executive and Legislative Exchange In Brazil,
Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, 2006, 22(1): 87-114.
Brollo, Fernanda and Tommaso Nannicini, Tying Your Enemy’s Hands in Close Races: The Politics
of Federal Transfers in Brazil, IZA Discussion Paper No. 5698; May 2011 http://ftp.iza.org/dp5698.pdf
Recommended: Anti-Corruption
Davis, Jennifer, “Corruption in Public Services: Experiences from South Asia’s Water and
Sanitation Sector”. World Development, Vol. 32 (2004), No. 1, pp. 53-71.
Gibson, Edward. 1997. "The Populist Road to Market Reform: Policy and Electoral Coalitions in
Mexico and Argentina," World Politics 49, no. 3 (April 1997).
http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~gibson/Gibsonworldpols.pdf
Teaford, Jon C. (1984). The Unheralded Triumph: City Government in America, 1870-1900.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
R. Klitgaard, Controlling Corruption, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1988), Chapters 1
and 2.
Lessig, Lawrence. 2009. “Against Transparency.” The New Republic.
http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/against-transparency
Scott, James C. (1969). "Corruption, Machine Politics, and Political Change." American Political
Science Review 63 (no. 4, December): 1142-1158.
Granovetter, Mark. 2006. “The Social Construction of Corruption”. The Social Construction of
Corruption”. In Victor Nee and Richard Swedberg, On Capitalism, Stanford University Press, 2007,
pp. 152-172.
15
Leff, Nathaniel H., 1964, "Economic Development through Bureaucratic Corruption," The American
Behavior Scientist, November, 8(2): 8-14.
Claudio Ferraz, Exposing Corrupt Politicians: The Effect of Brazil’s Publicly Released Audits on
Electoral Outcomes, with Frederico Finan. Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 2008, Vol. 123,
No. 2: 703–745.
E – Collective action and community participation
Guest Speaker: Prof. Genauto França Filho
Laville, J.L. 2010. The Solidarity Economy: An International Movement. RCCS Annual Review, 2,
October 2010
Recommended: Collective Action & community participation
Hardin, Garrett, Tragedy of the Commons
Wade, Robert, "The Management of Irrigation Systems: How to Evoke Trust and Avoid the
Prisoners' Dilemma," World Development Vol. 16 (1988), No. 4, pp. 489-500.
Altwood, D.W. and B.S. Baviskar, “Why Do Some Cooperatives Work, But Not Others: A
Comparative Analysis of Sugar Coops in India”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 22 (1987), No.
28, pp. 38-55.
Thorp, Rosemary, Frances Stewart and Amrik Heyer, “When and How Far is Group Formation a
Route Out of Chronic Poverty?” World Development, Volume 33 (2005), No. 6, pp. 907-920.
Khwaja, Asim Ijaz. "Can Good Projects Succeed in Bad Communities? Collective Action in the
Himalayas." Working Paper. (Cambridge, MA: John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard
University, 2001).
Kennedy, L., Cooperating for Survival: Tannery Pollution and Joint Action in the Palar Valley
(India). World Development, Vol. 27 (1999). No. 9, pp. 1673-1691.
Nadvi, K., Collective efficiency and collective failure: The response of the Sialkot surgical
instrument cluster to global quality pressures. World Development, 1999. 27(9): p. 1605-1626.
F – Accountability in a Patrimonial State
Cabral, S. ; Lazzarini, S. G. 2010. The Guarding the Guardians Problem: An Empirical Analysis of
Investigations in the Internal Affairs Division of a Police Organization. Working paper
Recommended: Accountability
Claudio Ferraz, Electoral Accountability and Corruption: Evidence from the Audit Reports of Local
Governments, with Frederico Finan. American Economic Review, June 2011, Vol.101:1274-1311.
16
IV. Synthesis: Pragmatic institutional reform
Hirschman, Albert O. "The Contriving of Reform." In: Journeys Toward Progress: Studies of
Economic Policy-Making in Latin America. (New York, NY: The Twentieth Century Fund, 1963),
pp. 251-264 and 271-275 (rest optional).
Recommended: Pragmatic institutional reform
Thomas, John W. and Merilee Grindle: “After the Decision: Implementing Policy Reforms in
Developing Countries,” World Development, Vol. 19 (1990), No. 8, pp. 1163-1181.
Mark Robinson, 'The Politics of Successful Governance Reforms: Lessons of Design and
Implementation', Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, Vol. 45 (2007), No. 4, pp. 521-548.
Matt Andrews, “Creating Effective Space for Effective Political Engagement in Development,” In
Odugbemi, Sena and Thomas Jacobson, eds. Governance Reforms Under Real World Conditions:
Citizens, Stakeholders and Voice. (Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2008), pp. 95-112.
Odugbemi, Sena and Thomas Jacobson, eds. Governance Reforms Under Real World Conditions:
Citizens, Stakeholders and Voice. (Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2008).
Jones, Harry, “Taking Responsibility for Complexity: How Implementation Can Achieve Results in
the Face of Complex Problems.” ODI Working Paper No 330. (London, Overseas Development
Institute, 2011).
Pellini, Arnaldo, “The RAPID Outcome Mapping Approach and Project Management for Policy
Change,” ODI Opinion Note No. 153. (London: Overseas Developing Institute, 2011).
Matta, Nadim and Peter Morgan, “Local Empowerment Through Rapid Results, Stanford Social
Innovation Review, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Summer 2011), pp. 51-55.
Fritz, Verena Kai Kaiser and Brian Levy, Problem Driven Governance and Political Economy
Analysis (Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2009).
Supplementary material for field visits and additional activities (recommended)
Lavagem do Bonfim
Gates, Brazil: A Racial Paradise? http://www.pbs.org/wnet/black-in-latin-america/featured/black-inlatin-america-full-episode-brazil-a-racial-paradise/224/
Selka, Stephen. Mediated Authenticity: Tradition, Modernity, and Postmodernity in Brazilian
Candomblé. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, Vol. 11, No. 1
(August 2007), pp. 5-30
Family Health Program / Programa de Saúde da Familia (PSF)
Aquino R, Oliveira NF, Barreto ML. Impact of the Family Health Program on infant mortality in
Brazilian municipalities. Am. J Public Health 2009; 1: 87–93.
17
Escorel S, Giovanella L, de Mendonca MH, et al. The Family Health Program and the construction
of a new model for primary care in Brazil. Rev. Panam Salud Pública 2007; 21(2-3): 164-176.
Health, United States 2010. National Center for Health Statistics. Available:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm
Paim,J. Travassos, C. Almeida, C. et al. The Brazilian health system: history, advances and
challenges. The Lancet. 2011. (Special Issue on Brazil).
18
Institutions, Governance, and International Development (IGID)
Bahia, Jan 2012
First assignment: Book or Movie Review
Please choose a book (or movie) from the list below:

Chang, Ha Joon, Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical
Perspective (or “Chutando a Escada: a estratégia do desenvolvimento em
perspectiva histórica”, Editora UNESP, 2004

Rodrik, Dani. “The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World
Economy”

Rezende, Sergio (director); “Mauá - O Imperador e o Rei”, Europa Filmes, 1999
(This movie is easily accessible in Brazil. For those in the US, we have requested a
copy through interlibrary loan. We will send an update when / whether it arrives)
The assignment consists of a memo analyzing the chosen book (or movie) under the light of the
following questions:

What is development?

Why are some countries rich while others are poor? If we consider “society” as our
unit of analysis (instead of an individual), what are the causes of poverty or wealth?

What kinds of variables determine these outcomes, and how can these variables be
manipulated to induce development?

What role does politics play, and how can we incorporate it in our musings?
The point here is NOT to write a summary description of the book / movie, or to argue that the book
/ movie is correct / incorrect on some point(s).
Rather, you should confront the arguments made by the author against your own notions about
development, and report on those points that surprised you, the elements that did not match with
your expectations, and the variables or mechanisms that you did not expect would matter in this
context. Ultimately, these points represent the seeds of new knowledge, and we want you to
identify and chronicle them.
At the end of the day, this is not so much a book review, as an exercise in self-reflection. Those
who demonstrate engagement and reflection will receive high grades. Those who pretended they
engaged will not.
Importantly, you may write this document in conversational style, and use the first person of the
singular (“I used to think X, but the author of this book claimed Y…”, or “I was surprised to see the
author highlight point X, because I always thought Y”).
19
You can complete this assignment alone, in pairs or trios. If working in groups, you can choose to
report on internal disagreements. We encourage students to team up because it promotes jointexploration, enhances the learning experience and increases the quality of the final product. If
forming a team is difficult for any reason, proceed solo.
This exercise is take-home, open book, and open notes. The final document should be no longer
than 3 pages, including title, bibliography and footnotes. It should be written on Times New Roman
size 12, doubled-spaced lines (not 1.5), one inch margins all around. Please submit the document
as .pdf or .doc (not .docx). For additional details on formatting and submission, consult the syllabus
Deadline: submit your assignments via dropittome (see syllabus) by December 30th .
20