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IZA/FCDO ONLINE Development Economics Course for Sub-Saharan Africa

Organizers: Oriana Bandiera (London School of Economics and IZA), Ahmed Elsayed (IZA)
Location:ONLINE
Date:September 17 - November 17, 2021

Submission Deadline:August 15, 2021
Notification of Acceptance:August 31, 2021

Event Manager:

Viola Hartmann
 

Background

We are happy to announce that the IZA/FCDO Program on Gender, Growth and Labor Markets in Low-Income Countries (G²LM|LIC) is sponsoring the ONLINE EVENT: "Development Economics Course for Sub-Saharan Africa", September 13- November 12, 2021.

The biggest puzzle in economics is why fundamentally equal humans living in different countries enjoy very different standards of living. The aim of this course is to bring together the very latest research in development economics that tries to answer this puzzle.

We will follow the arc of development that starts with small subsistence entrepreneurs (normally in agriculture) and ends in large complex multinational enterprises. We will analyze how man-made organizations trade with one another, how they affect the environment in which they live and how the environment affects them in return. We will finally analyze the role of the state in regulating markets, coordinating economic activity and containing externalities.

The course is organized in eight blocks. Each block contains a prerecorded lecture and a live-online-class on one or two days per week. The course is modeled after the award-winning undergrad development course at the LSE and, like its model, it is entirely based on research articles.

The course is designed for undergraduate students but we can accept applications from grad students as well. Residence in Africa is a strict requirement. A basic knowledge of economics, statistics, mathematics is useful but there are no prerequisites other than a deep clear curiosity about the subject. Our goal is to open a window on the world of research, and to give students a glimpse of what economics can do. The language of instruction is English.
 

Instructors

Oriana Bandiera (London School of Economics and IZA)
Robin Burgess (London School of Economics)
 

Teaching Assistants

Ananya Kotia (PhD Student, LSE)
Michelle Rao (PhD Student, LSE)
 

Submission

Applications should be uploaded via the online application form by August 15, 2021.
The Program Committee will aim to communicate its decisions to the applicants by August 31, 2021.