Rethinking Development - Duke University
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Rethinking Development Conference on International Development Duke University 16 November 2018 Kaushik Basu Cornell University
Transcript of Rethinking Development - Duke University
Rethinking Development Conference on International Development
Duke University
16 November 2018
Kaushik BasuCornell University
The origins
• Development economics was part and parcel of mainstream economics in 1776.
• The great divergence of development economics from the mainstream occurred with the rise of neoclassical economics and the marginalistrevolution of the late 19th century.
• 19 February 1860 may be treated as the birthday of modern economics.
19th February 1860
Stanley Jevons to his brother, 1 June 1860: He had recently stumbled upon “the true Theory of Economy.” So novel his thinking was that “I cannot now read other books on the subject without indignation.”
Diary entry on 19 February 1860: “At home all day and working chiefly at Economy, arriving I suppose at a true comprehension of Value.”
IIT Bombay Institute Lecture 2018
The marginalist school rises, andinterest in development wanes.Development economics, as an independent discipline, emerges in the mid-20th century, with the writings of Ragnar Nurkse, Paul Rosenstein-Rodan, Albert Hirschman and Arthur Lewis.
The immediate impetus was the end of colonialism.
IIT Bombay Institute Lecture 2018
IIT Bombay Institute Lecture 2018
IIT Bombay Institute Lecture 2018
Learning development in the field
• Village conversations
• Policymaking in Delhi and Washington
IIT Bombay Institute Lecture 2018
IIT Bombay Institute Lecture 2018
The power of theory:India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves
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10 year bonds, quarterly average, in percent
Greece Ireland Italy Portugal Spain Other Eurozone
10 year bonds, quarterly average, in percent
Globalization illustrated: Eurozone Bond Yields
Note: “Other Eurozone” is a simple average of the bond yields of Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia. Data for Estonia and Latvia are not available.
Source: International Financial Statistics.
Here is one example of a frame.
Social Norms and Development
Here is one example of a frame.
Social Norms and Development
Organ Donation: The Importance of the Default Option
Effective consent rates, by country. Explicit consent (opt-in, gold) and presumed consent (opt-out, blue)
Source: Johnson & Goldstein (2003)
Corruption control
• Fines and punishment as game changers• But who enforces the law and why?
• Pervasive corruption and corruption control as political instrument
• Modeling The Republic of Beliefs
IIT Bombay Institute Lecture 2018
IIT Bombay Institute Lecture 2018
The Squares Game
The Squares Game
