Day: February 21, 2021

Prior to the beginning of one class each week (e.g. prior to the Tuesday class or prior to the Thursday class), students are required to write a short summary of one of the required readings for that class and upload the summary to the course website. This summary should be between 300 and 500 words (approximately one page).

The summaries are posted under the assignments tab on canvas or can be found under each module. You have the option to upload either a PDF or a word document. The summaries are due by 1:00 am the day before the class and cannot be uploaded after that time.

There are 10 weeks of class. You need to complete 10 reading summaries; your lowest score may be dropped. If you make a reasonable effort and write something thoughtful, you will receive full credit. I expect that everyone should regularly be receiving full credit.

The summary should cover the following: (i) Why is the paper important (or why not)? (ii) An overview of the core contributions of the paper. (iii) What you liked or did not like about the paper. (iv) How the paper is connected to other studies in the course. (Organize the paper structure in lines with the questions given)

Required Reading List:

March 9, 2021: How can history inform policy?

Lowes, Sara and Eduardo Montero. 2017. Mistrust in Medicine: The Legacy of Colonial Medicine Campaigns in Central Africa, Working paper, Bocconi University.

Ashraf, Nava, Natalie Bau, Nathan Nunn, and Alessandra Voena. 2020. Bride Price and Female Education, Journal of Political Economy, 128 (2): 591641.

Prior to the beginning of one class each week (e.g. prior to the Tuesday class or prior to the Thursday class), students are required to write a short summary of one of the required readings for that class and upload the summary to the course website. This summary should be between 300 and 500 words (approximately one page).

The summaries are posted under the assignments tab on canvas or can be found under each module. You have the option to upload either a PDF or a word document. The summaries are due by 1:00 am the day before the class and cannot be uploaded after that time.

There are 10 weeks of class. You need to complete 10 reading summaries; your lowest score may be dropped. If you make a reasonable effort and write something thoughtful, you will receive full credit. I expect that everyone should regularly be receiving full credit.

The summary should cover the following: (i) Why is the paper important (or why not)? (ii) An overview of the core contributions of the paper. (iii) What you liked or did not like about the paper. (iv) How the paper is connected to other studies in the course. (Organize the paper structure in lines with the questions given)

Required Reading List:

March 4, 2021: Conflict

Dube, Oeindrila and Juan F. Vargas. (2010). “Commodity Price Shocks and Civil Conflict: Evidence from Colombia,” Review of Economic Studies, 80 (4):1384-1421.

Miguel, Edward, Shanker Satyanath, and Ernest Sergenti. (2004). “Economic Shocks and Civil Conflict: An Instrumental Variables Approach,” Journal of Political Economy, 112 (4): 72553.

Dell, Melissa, and Pablo Querubin. (2018). Nation Building Through Foreign Intervention: Evidence from Discontinuities in Military Strategies, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 133 (2): 701-764.

Prior to the beginning of one class each week (e.g. prior to the Tuesday class or prior to the Thursday class), students are required to write a short summary of one of the required readings for that class and upload the summary to the course website. This summary should be between 300 and 500 words (approximately one page).

The summaries are posted under the assignments tab on canvas or can be found under each module. You have the option to upload either a PDF or a word document. The summaries are due by 1:00 am the day before the class and cannot be uploaded after that time.

There are 10 weeks of class. You need to complete 10 reading summaries; your lowest score may be dropped. If you make a reasonable effort and write something thoughtful, you will receive full credit. I expect that everyone should regularly be receiving full credit.

The summary should cover the following: (i) Why is the paper important (or why not)? (ii) An overview of the core contributions of the paper. (iii) What you liked or did not like about the paper. (iv) How the paper is connected to other studies in the course. (Organize the paper structure in lines with the questions given)

Required Reading List:

February 25, 2021: Foreign aid

Nunn, Nathan and Nancy Qian. (2014). U.S. Food Aid and Civil Conflict, American Economic Review, 104 (6): 1630-1666.

Crost, Benjamin, Joseph Felter, and Patrick B. Johnston. (2014). Aid Under Fire: Development Projects and Civil Conflict, American Economic Review, 104 (6): 1833-1856.