PSC 564: Development and Political Economy (Graduate)
Spring 2024— TR 1105-1220.
This course surveys selected topics in the recent literature that studies politics in the context of developing nations. It is designed to familiarize students with both the frontier research questions and the methodological tools employed in the field. Topics include but are not limited to democratic transitions and the institution of elections; accountability and government responsiveness; polarization and voters’ responses to misinformation; and the role of cultural institutions such as gender roles and ethnic cleavages.
Syllabus
This course surveys selected topics in the recent literature that studies politics in the context of developing nations. It is designed to familiarize students with both the frontier research questions and the methodological tools employed in the field. Topics include but are not limited to democratic transitions and the institution of elections; accountability and government responsiveness; polarization and voters’ responses to misinformation; and the role of cultural institutions such as gender roles and ethnic cleavages.
Syllabus
PSC 405: Causal Inference (Graduate)
Spring 2024— TR 0940-1055 .
The goal of this course is to give students a comprehensive toolbox for reading and producing cutting-edge applied empirical research, with focus on the theory and practice behind causal inference in social sciences. We will cover treatment effects, experiments, panel data, differences-in-differences, instrumental variables, nonparametric regression, regression discontinuity, matching, synthetic control, and more. Students will read applied papers from both political science and economics, and write review reports examining research designs, identification strategies, and causal claims. They will also produce research proposals that will be presented in class. Applications will be taught with R.
Syllabus | Reading List
The goal of this course is to give students a comprehensive toolbox for reading and producing cutting-edge applied empirical research, with focus on the theory and practice behind causal inference in social sciences. We will cover treatment effects, experiments, panel data, differences-in-differences, instrumental variables, nonparametric regression, regression discontinuity, matching, synthetic control, and more. Students will read applied papers from both political science and economics, and write review reports examining research designs, identification strategies, and causal claims. They will also produce research proposals that will be presented in class. Applications will be taught with R.
Syllabus | Reading List
PSC/IR 255: Poverty and Development (Undergraduate)
Fall 2024— TR 0940-1055
Why are some countries poor, while others enjoy a high standard of living? Why some enjoy stability and freedoms, while others suffer with corruption, repression and violence? Why countries stagnate or decline in their economic development? This course is designed to provide a broad theoretical framework for thinking about these problems, focusing on the political and institutional causes of differences in economic development across countries.
Syllabus
Why are some countries poor, while others enjoy a high standard of living? Why some enjoy stability and freedoms, while others suffer with corruption, repression and violence? Why countries stagnate or decline in their economic development? This course is designed to provide a broad theoretical framework for thinking about these problems, focusing on the political and institutional causes of differences in economic development across countries.
Syllabus
PSC/IR 262: Elections in Developing Countries (Undergraduate)
Fall 2021 — TR 0940-1055
How do elections work in developing democracies? Do contexts that are specific to countries in the developing world have implications for the nature and operation of electoral politics therein? In this course we will explore a number of issues that have particular relevance for elections in developing countries, including clientelism and vote buying, electoral manipulation and fraud, ethnic voting, and electoral violence. In addition, we will consider how limited levels of information and political credibility affect both the operation of electoral accountability and the nature of electoral competition. In doing so, we will draw on examples from Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
Syllabus
How do elections work in developing democracies? Do contexts that are specific to countries in the developing world have implications for the nature and operation of electoral politics therein? In this course we will explore a number of issues that have particular relevance for elections in developing countries, including clientelism and vote buying, electoral manipulation and fraud, ethnic voting, and electoral violence. In addition, we will consider how limited levels of information and political credibility affect both the operation of electoral accountability and the nature of electoral competition. In doing so, we will draw on examples from Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
Syllabus
