Political Economy & Economic Development

Benjamin Olken - MIT

1. Introduction:  Why Study Political Economy & Development

2. The Role of Leaders & Democratic Institutions

3. The Deep Determinants of Economic Development: Macro Evidence

4. The Deep Determinants of Economic Development: Micro Evidence

5. The Median Voter Theorem

6. Voting in Practice: Citizen Candidate Models, Politician Identity & The Failure of Median Voter Theorem

7. Voting in Practice: Agency Models

8. Voting in Practice: Vote Buying & Voter Intimidation

9. Sometimes it Gets Complicated: Condorcet's Paradox & Arrow's Impossibility Theorem

10. Good vs Bad Dictatorships

11. The Logic of Collective Action

12. Ethnic Heterogeneity & Contributions to Public Goods

13. Recovery from Civil War: Special

14. Civil War

15. Is Corruption Inefficient?

16. The Corrupt Official's Decision Problem: Balancing Risks, Rents & Incentives

17. The Industrial Organisation of Corruption

18. Politicians & Firms