Foundations of Development Policy

Source – MITx Online

MITx Online has launched a course ‘Foundations of Development Policy’ that will examine the different facets of human development, including education, health, gender, the family, land relations, risk, public policy, and institutions. At the same time, you can discover modern empirical methods in economics while working with real data. 

While studying each of these topics, the course will delve into the following questions:

• What determines the decisions of poor households in developing countries?
• What constraints are poor households subject to?
• What is the scope for policy interventions (implemented by the government, international organizations, or NGOs)?
• What policies have been tried out? Have they been successful?

At the same time, you will discover modern empirical methods in economics, in particular Randomized Control Trials (RCTs). Throughout the course, we will expose you to all facets of empirical projects, from experimental design and ethical issues, to data collection and data analysis. You will have the chance to gain experience working with real data using software for statistical analysis during weekly assignments.

What’s in it for you?

• Lessons from cutting edge research in development across a range of topics
• How to build and apply economic models relevant to concrete development situations
• How to design and conduct a randomized control trial to learn more about these questions
• Data management and analysis using the software R

Prerequisites

• Familiarity with high school calculus
• Basic understanding of statistics or econometrics
• Familiarity with introductory microeconomics

Instructors 

1. Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee – Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics
2. Esther Duflo – Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics in the Department of Economics
3. Benjamin Olken – Professor of Economics 

Logistical Details 

Start Date – January 16, 2024/ May 14, 2024 

Timeline – Estimated 11 weeks 

Effort – 12-14 hours per week