Below is the schedule for the semester. You can find the materials for each course meeting under the “Content” links for that week. You should complete the required readings before each meeting.
Here’s a guide to the schedule:
- Materials (): This page contains the readings and slides for the meeting
- Workshop (): A link to the workshop for that week
- Assignment (): This page contains the instructions for each assignment
The readings refer to following texts:
|
Date
|
Title
|
Reading
|
Materials
|
Workshop
|
Assignment
|
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Week 1
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January 15
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Introduction to the course (JS)
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Week 2
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January 20
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MLK Jr. Day (no classes)
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January 22
|
Correlation vs. Causation (CT)
|
DSS Ch 2
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Week 3
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January 27
|
Causality (CT)
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DSS Ch 5
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January 29
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Rstudio and Quarto Workshop (JS)
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Week 4
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February 3
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Democracy and Autocracy (CT)
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Przeworski 2024, Grossman et. al., 2021
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February 5
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Democracy and Development (CT)
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Acemoglu et. al., 2008
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Week 5
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February 10
|
Final Project Overview (JS)
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No readings
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February 12
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Linear Regression and Uncertainty (CT)
|
DSS Ch 3 and 4
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Week 6
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February 17
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Representation and Accountability (CT)
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Manin, Przeworski, and Stokes, 1999; Ferraz and Finan, 2011
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February 19
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Representation and Accountability Reconsidered (CT)
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Dunning et. al. 2019
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Week 7
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February 24
|
Github Workshop (JS)
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No readings
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February 26
|
Github Workshop (JS)
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No readings
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Week 8
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March 3
|
Crime and Punishment (CT)
|
Bateson, 2012; Weaver and Lerman, 2010
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March 5
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Crime and Punishment 2 (CT)
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Gustavo A. Flores-Macías and Jessica Zarkin, 2024
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Week 9
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March 10
|
Spring Break
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March 12
|
Spring Break
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Week 10
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March 17
|
Gender (CT)
|
Chattopadhyay and Duflo, 2004
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March 19
|
Migration 1 (JS)
|
Rozo and Grossman (2025); Sviatschi (2022); Gazeaud (2020)
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Week 11
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March 24
|
Final Project Essentials (JS)
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No readings
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March 26
|
Text as Data workshop (CT)
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No readings
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Week 12
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March 31
|
State Capacity (Guest: Nagawa)
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Bessley et al. (2022); Fukuyama (2013); Rothstein et al., (2008); Persson et al. (1997)
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April 2
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Final Project Preparation (JS)
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No readings
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Week 13
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April 7
|
Foreign Aid and NGOs 1 (JS)
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Briggs (2016); Briggs (2021)
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April 9
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Foreign Aid and NGOs 2 (JS)
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Cruz (2017); Bold et al. (2018)
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Week 14
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April 14
|
Foreign Aid : An Obituary
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April 16
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Climate and Development (JS)
|
O’Brien-Udry (2023)
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Week 15
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April 21
|
Climate and Development 2 (JS)
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Namrata (2023); Alberto et al. (2022)
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April 23
|
Climate and Development 3 (Guest: Marinov)
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Week 16
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April 28
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What is development? (JS)
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Assorted short pieces
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April 30
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Reflections on development research (JS)
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Assorted short pieces
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Week 17
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May 10
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Final Project Due
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