PUBPOL 5581

Economic Development and Public Policy

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

Two United States’ worth of people across the world live in extreme poverty, defined as less than $2.15 per day (adjusted for purchasing power to the United States in 2017). Cross-country income differences between high-income and low-income countries can be on the order of 2,000–4,000%. This course will discuss theories and empirical studies from development economics that aim to understand the causes and consequences of these vast differences, and formulate and evaluate policies designed to improve the lives of people living in poverty. The course will draw on readings from textbook(s) and original research papers.

Prerequisites PUBPOL 2000, or ECON 3030, or PUBPOL 5210 AND PUBPOL 3100, or ECON 3120, or ECON 3140, or AEM 4110.

Last 4 Terms Offered (None)

Learning Outcomes

• Articulate potential causes and consequences of extreme poverty and inequality.
• Understand original research papers and causal inference methods used in empirical development economics, including randomized controlled trials.
• Critically assess the evidence for and against specific theories of economic development and anti-poverty interventions.
• Formulate proposals for new or modified interventions based on existing theory and evidence.

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