Download - 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
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
450,000Re
serv
es ($
mill
ion)
Inte
rest
rate
, Per
cent
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Q1
1993
Q4
1993
Q3
1994
Q2
1995
Q1
1996
Q4
1996
Q3
1997
Q2
1998
Q1
1999
Q4
1999
Q3
2000
Q2
2001
Q1
2002
Q4
2002
Q3
2003
Q2
2004
Q1
2005
Q4
2005
Q3
2006
Q2
2007
Q1
2008
Q4
2008
Q3
2009
Q2
2010
Q1
2011
Q4
2011
Q3
2012
Q2
2013
Q1
2014
Q4
2014
Q3
2015
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