ECO5064S
- Views of Institutional & Behavioural Economics
Course Information
Instructors
Objectives
This is an advanced seminar/review course in the fields of Institutional and
Behavioural Economics. It is designed, in part, to provide a gateway into the
dissertation phase of the masters programme. In particular, the course will be
especially useful for students contemplating writing dissertations in the fields
of labour, development, computational, and/or experimental economics. The
course will introduce students to recent theoretical and applied research in
each
of these fields as it relates to institutional and/or behavioural aspects of
economic
activity. Microeconomics and Econometrics as the masters level/ 1st year
doctoral level is a pre-requisite.
Overview
The syllabus for this year is divided into three inter-related topics. The
first section
deals with what we call empowerment and efficiency; the second with the
analysis of social networks; and the third with the econometrics of randomised
evaluations.
In short, the material covered in section 1 of the course tries to address an
age-old question in economics: what is the relationship between inequality and
the economic success of households, enterprises, local communities, and nations?
The material we will cover is motivated by recent developments in economics
that challenges the view that reducing economic inequalities inevitably
compromises
efficiency. In fact, as we shall see, recent evidence shows precisely the
opposite: inequality imposes substantial costs on economic performance? Section
1 of the course delves into this new literature. Specifically, we look at how
inequalities in economic and political power within households (mediated by
gender), modern communities (mediated by race and ethnicity), and agrarian
villages (mediated by class) results in inefficiencies in the allocation of
resources
to both productive and non-productive activities.
Moving beyond traditional viewpoints about the relationship between equity
(or what we refer to as empowerment) and efficiency, requires an
interdisciplinary
approach that draws on insights and tools across a wide range of disciplines:
whereas section 1 emphasised the interplay between forms of inequality
based on ascriptive traits (gender, race, ethnicity) and social interactions, in
generating inefficiencies, section 2 broadens the analysis of social
interactions
to include the entire network of contacts that an individual, household, or
rural
village might have access to. Unlike in economics, the study of social networks
has long enjoyed prominence in sociology and physics. However there is a growing
albeit small literature in economics dealing with the analytical complexities
and fieldwork challenges involved in the study of networks. We will begin with
a sampling of what we consider to be exemplary of this recent literature in
economics
(much of which adopts a structural/ causal approach) and then move on
to other methods ranging from field studies in economic anthropology to ideas
borrowed from statistical physics and graph theory.
How might the types of inequality (and concomitant inefficiencies)
considered
in the previous sections be rectified without introducing new sources of
inefficiency? The way in which this question is posed suggests a very different
approach to policy formulation than is commonly the case. This is the subject
of the final section of the course which deals with policy/programme evaluation.
Dealing with the types of inequalities considered in this course requires
context
specific interventions: public policy aimed at improving the lot of single
mothers
or farm workers in country A might be wholly unsuited to the circumstances
in country B because of differing institutions, histories, fiscal constraints
etc.
Experimentation is therefore key. This means that we have to be able to say
something about whether a given intervention has worked or not. This section
of the course deals with the analytical and fieldwork challenges entailed in
adopting experimental approaches to policy formulation and evaluation.
Expectations
Students are expected to be active contributors during seminars. This usually
means that several students will be allocated responsibilities to lead off the
discussion
for a given session, but everyone is expected to have read the material
to be discussed in advance. In addition, students are expected to share their
own research ideas in a seminar setting. The strong research focus of the course
is reflected in the requirement that each student write a substantial term paper
and present this paper to the rest of the class, by the end of the semester. To
facilitate
this process, both instructors will be available for extensive consultation
during the process of formulating and writing the paper.
Evaluation
The term paper counts 50% of the overall mark and can be on a topic that
falls broadly within the domain of Institutional and/or Behavioural Economics.
Other than the requirement that the paper be substantive (by which we mean
that it must demonstrate the beginnings of original research on a chosen topic),
we
place no restrictions on the methodology/approach used in the paper, as long as
the student follows a scientific method of analysis (by which we mean the
formulation
of well structured hypotheses followed by either empirical or theoretical
reasoning). Ethnography, econometrics, mathematical and/or game theoretic
modelling, historical analyses, computational or agent based modelling and
economic
experiments are examples of the types of methodological approaches that
are permitted, but if you have other ideas, make an appointment to see either
of us and we can discuss them.
Beginning in the first week of September, the convenors will schedule
appointments
with students to talk about their term papers, and regular meetings
will be held thereafter to ensure students are making good progress on their
papers.
The final week of the course will be set aside for each student to present
drafts of their term papers, due a week before the final exam.
Finally, students will write a final take-home exam (to be handed in on the
day of the scheduled exam for VIBE), which will account for the remaining 50%
of the course mark.
Syllabus
Click here to
download the PDF file containing both the 2005 course outline and the syllabus.
(15/08/2005)
|
|
