ARE 305
The Role of Agriculture in Economic Development
Time: 4-5pm Tuesday, Thursday Fall Semester, 2001
Professor: Jeremy Foltz
Office Hours: Tu/Thrs 11-12:30
Office: 326 WB Young bldg. Tel: 486-2838
Email: Jeremy.Foltz@Uconn.edu
Course description:
This is a graduate course in the micro-economics of development with a focus on agriculture. It
is intended both as a topics course and an exposition of methods.
Prerequisites:
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Graduate standing: one year of economic and econometric theory suggested.
Required Books:
Bardhan, Pranab and Christopher Udry. 2000. Development Microeconomics. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Bardhan, Pranab and Christopher Udry. 2000. Readings in Development Microeconomics: Micro
Theory.
Bardhan, Pranab and Christopher Udry. 2000. Readings in Development Microeconomics:
Empirical Microeconomics.
Recommended Texts:
Ray, Debraj. 1998. Development Economics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hoff, Karla; A. Braverman and J. Stiglitz (eds.) 1993. The Economics of Rural Organization:
Theory, Practice, and Policy (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Bardhan, Pranab. 1989. The Economic Theory of Agrarian Institutions. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Course Requirements
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Homework/Problem sets
Take home Final
Research paper
305
25 %
30 %
35 %
Homework/Problem Sets: There will be some problem sets during the course of the semester.
Research Paper: Write a 20 page (5000 word) paper on a topic related to agricultural economic
development. You must hand in a paper and a disk (3.5") copy of your work.
Research Paper Instructions:
Topic:
I strongly urge you to speak with me as you develop ideas for your topic. In choosing a topic
please follow this rule:
Define and state your research topic as a single question ending with a question mark. This is a
requirement. State the question clearly, and satisfy yourself that (i) it is worth
researching, (ii) it can be answered adequately in 15-20 pages. You will want to find a
very narrowly defined topic.
Topic Suggestion: Use the articles in the Bardhan and Udry empirical readings book to find an
issue that interests you. Then try to recreate or improve on the estimation in that paper with a
different data set. I can provide you with data on Nicaragua, Ivory Coast, and Tunisia that will
allow you to estimate most of the types of empirical models in those articles. You are of course
welcome to use your own data.
Research: You should research your topic using books and academic journal articles. Read
around your topic--first widely, then gradually focus in on the topic. When you find a book or
article that is relevant, search down the books and articles cited in that book. A good place to
start is in the bibliography of various texts used in class. Some academic journals you may want
to look at include: Journal of Development Economics, World Development, Economic
Development and Cultural Change, Journal of Development Studies, Journal of Developing
Areas. Only use the popular press (New York Times, Time, Newsweek) for background
research. Note that you may use information from the web, if it is well documented.
Writing: Here are some hints on how to write:
1. In the paper you should only briefly summarize what others have found, focussing
primarily on your own insights.
2. Summarize and evaluate the economic theory behind your topic using information
from the class, textbooks, and other sources.
3. Make sure you focus on answering the research question you pose: (i) by showing
how others have answered it, (ii) by evaluating the economic theory relevant to your
question, (iii) by developing your own insights into the problem from doing (i) and
(ii).
Bibliography: You are expected to have between 10 and 20 references in your bibliography. As
in all written work you must provide citations for all material that is not your own. A
bibliography style sheet will be handed out in class.
Course Outline:
Week 1 Introduction:
Bardhan and Udry ch 1
Bardhan, P. “Alternative Approaches to the Theory of Institutions in Economic Development”
Stiglitz, J. “Rational Peasants, Efficient Institutions, and a Theory of Rural Organization.”
Ch. 1 and 2 in Bardhan “Economic Theory of Agrarian Institutions”
Sala-i-Martin, Xavier (1997). “I just ran two million regressions”, Amer. Econ. Rev. 87(2), May,
pp.178-183.
Carter, Michael and Barham, Bradford. “Level Playing Fields and Laissez Faire: Post Liberal
Development Strategies in Inegalitarian Economies,” World Development 24, 7 (1996):
1133-1149.
Topic: Household Economics
Bardhan and Udry ch 2
Thomas, D. (1990). "Intra-Household Resource Allocation: An Inferential Approach," J of
Human Resources 25(4): 635-664.
Carter, M. R. and E. Katz (1997). "Separate Spheres and the Conjugal Contract: Understanding
Gender-Biased Development," in L. Haddad , J. Hoddinott and H. Alderman (eds.)
Intrahousehold Resource Allocation in developing Countries: Methods, Models and
Policy (Johns Hopkins).
Singh, I., L. Squire, and J. Strauss. Agricultural Household Models: Extensions, Applications,
and Policy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
Smith, L. and J-P. Chavas (1997). "Supply Response and the Health impact of Agricultural Price
Policy: Implications of Intrahousehold Preference Heterogeneity,," J of Dev Econ
Udry, C. (1996). "Gender, Agricultural Production and the Theory of the Household," J of
Political Economy 104(5): 1010-1046. (In empirical readings book)
Topic: Population
Bardhan and Udry Ch 3
Rosenswieg, M. “Population Growth and Human Capital Investments” in B&U empirical
readings.
Topic: Labor markets
Efficiency wages, Nutritional wage hypothesis
Migration theory
Bardhan and Udry Ch 4, 5
Basu, Kaushik. 1998. "Child Labor: Cause, Consequence and Cure, with Remarks on
International Labor Standards." Mimeo prepared for J. of Economic Literature. Cornell
University.
Basu, K. and P.H. Van. 199? "The Economics of Child Labor." American Economic Review.
Tanski, Janet. 1994. "The Impact of Crisis, Stabilization and Structural Adjustment on women in
Lima, Peru." World Development. 22(11).
Harris, R and Michael Todaro (1970). "Migration, unemployment and development: a two-sector
analysis," American Economic Review 60, pp. 126-142.
Topic: Land reform, land tenure
Theory: Inverse relationships and incentives
Issues of land reform: market assisted land reform:
Bardhan and Udry Ch 6
Ch. 11, 12 in Hoff et al.
Binswanger, Hans and Elgin, Miranda. “Reflections on Land Reform and Farm Size,” in C.
Eicher and J. Staatz, International Agricultural Development 3rd ed. (Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins, 1998), 316-328.
Deininger, Klaus. “Making Negotiated Land Reform Work: Initial Experience from Colombia,
Brazil, and South Africa.” Mimeo, World Bank Research Division, 1998.
DeJanvry, Alain and Sadoulet, Elizabeth. “Path Dependent Policy Reforms: From Land Reform
to Rural Development in Colombia,” in C. Eicher and J. Staatz, International
Agricultural Development 3rd ed. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1998), 571-585.
Zimmerman, F. (1998). "Barriers to the Participation of the Poor in South Africa’s Land
Reform," working paper, Stanford University.
Topic: Peasant Agriculture
Theory of peasant agriculture
Market imperfections, sharecropping
Bardhan and Udry Ch 8 and 9
Stiglitz Ch.2 in Bardhan book
Binswanger Ch. 6 in Bardhan book
Hoff Ch. 1
Eswaran, M., and A. Kotwal (1985). "A Theory of Two-Tier Labor Markets in Agrarian
Economies," Amer Econ Rev 75 (March):162-77.
Bowles, S. (1985). "The Production Process in Competitive Economies: Walrasian,
Neo-Hobbesian and Marxian Models," Amer Econ Rev 75(1): 16-36.
Frisvold, G.B. (1994). "Does Supervision Matter? Some Hypothesis Tests using Indian FarmLevel Data," J of Dev Econ 43: 217-238.
Bardhan, P.K. (1983). "Labor-tying in a Poor Agrarian Economy: A Theoretical and Empirical
Analysis," Quarterly Journal of Economics 98 (August):501-14.
Anderson-Schaffner, J. (1995). "Attached Farm Labor, Limited Horizons and Servility," J of Dev
Econ (August) 47(2): 241-270.
Topic: Credit market imperfections and solutions
Theory: Why Johnny can’t borrow money
Micro-credit, credit unions, subsidies
Bardhan and Udry Ch 7
Eswaran and Kotwal "Credit and Agrarian Class Structure" Ch. 8 in Bardhan.
Hoff, K. and J. E. Stiglitz (1993). "Imperfect Information and Rural Credit Markets: Puzzles and
Policy Perspectives," in Hoff,
Chapter 4 in Hoff et al "Peer monitoring"
Wenner, M. (1995). "Group Credit: A Means to Improve Information
Transfer and Loan Repayment Performance," J of Dev Studies 32(2):
263-281.
Zeller, M. (1998). "Determinants of Repayment Performance in Credit Groups: The Role of
Program Design, Intragroup Risk Pooling and Social Cohesion," Econ Dev and Cult
Change 46(3): 599-620.
Topic: Targeting development programs, Measuring poverty and inequality
Bardhan and Udry Ch 11
Ray Chapter 8 Ch. 8 pp.250-256 on measuring poverty
Handout on measuring Targeting
Amartya K. Sen. 1981. Poverty and Famines Oxford: Oxford Unversity Press.
Ch 4, 5, 7, Appendix A
Corbett, Jane. 1988. "Famine and Household Coping Strategies" World Development 16(9).
Ch. 29 in Hoff et al. "Agricultural Change an Inequality in Palanpur, 1957-84
Ch. 23 in Hoff et al. Martin Ravallion, "Poverty Alleviation through Regional Targeting: A Case
Study for Indonesia"
Topic: Technology, Innovation, and the green revolution
Theory: Diffusion and induced innovation
Bardhan and Udry Ch 12
Besley, Timothy and Anne Case “Modeling Technology Adoption in Developing Countries.”
American Economic Review. (Vol. 83, No. 2, pp. 396-402, 1993)
Feder, Gershon, E. Just, and D. Zilberman. "Adoption of Agricultural Innovations in Developing
Countries: A Survey.” Economic Development and Cultural Change. (Vol. 33, No.2,
pp.255-298. 1985.)
Feder and Slade"The Acquisition of Information and the Adoption of Technology." American
Journal of Agricultural Economics. (pp. 312-320, 1984).
Topic: Environment and development
Environment and Technology
Bardhan and Udry Ch 13
Seabright, P. “Managing the Local Commons: Theoretical Issues in Incentive Design” in B&U
theory readings.
Perrings, Charles (1989). "An Optimal Path to Extinction? Poverty and Resource Degradation in
an Open Agrarian Economy." Journal of Development Economics 30, pp. 1-24.
Bradford L. Barham and Oliver T. Coomes, “Reinterpreting the Amazon Rubber Boom:
Investment, the State, and Dutch Disease,” Latin American Research Review, 29,
2(1994), 73-109.
Topic: Trade and Agro Exports:
Trade theory
Agro-exports in Central America, Dutch Disease
Bardhan and Udry Ch 14
Barham, B., M. Carter and W. Sigelko (1995)."Agro-Export Production and Peasant Land
Access," J of Dev Econ 46(1): 85-108
Carter, M. B. Barham, and D. Mesbah. 1995. "Agricultural Export Booms and the Rural Poor in
Chile, Guatemala, and Paraguay." Latin American Research Review. 31(1).
de Janvry, A., Elisabeth Sadoulet, and Gustavo Gordillo de Anda, “NAFTA and Mexico’s
Maize Producers,” World Development, 23 (8), (1995): 1349-1362.
Topic: The Role of Agriculture in Economic Development
Bardhan and Udry ch 15-16
Anderson, Kym (1987). "On Why Agriculture Declines with Economic Growth.",
AgriculturalEconomics v.1, pp.195-207.
Topic: Creating institutions for economic development
Bardhan and Udry Ch 17
Biotechnology, seed development, and developing countries
Gollin and Evenson