padm-gp 2201 - robert f. wagner graduate school … · web viewin the past, students have asked for...

PADM-GP 2201Institutions, Governance and International Development

Fall 2018 Class Information: Mondays, 6:45 - 8:25PM, at GCASL 375

Salo [email protected] Office Hours: by appointment

Prerequisites: n/a

Course DescriptionThis course examines two critical questions in international development: (a) how can we deepen and broaden markets so everyone can have a job and benefit from the gains from trade? And (2) how can we strengthen the government so it can complement, sustain, and tame these markets?

When tackling these questions, this course focuses on the challenges and opportunities of institutional and governance reform in low- and middle-income countries, as faced by individuals living and working in those countries. This means that the politics of foreign aid, and the role played by international and multilateral organizations, NGOs, private foundations, and social enterprises might show up on occasion, but they are not the focus of the course.

By design, this course avoids offering blueprints or one-right answers to the perceived causes of “underdevelopment”. Rather, it encourages students to search for the levers that are likely to matter given the constraints that actors face. Both theory and empirical analysis are essential to this task, but at the end of the day international development professionals must be creative to foster positive change.

Learning ObjectivesBy the end of the course students will:

1. Understand how the theory and practice of institutional and governance reform has evolved over time;

2. Acquire a critical perspective on blueprints, received wisdoms and other misconceptions prevalent in international development thinking;

1

mailto:[email protected]

3. Identify some of the roles played by national and local governments, private businesses, and, to a lesser extent, NGOs, citizens, and international organizations in promoting economic development;

4. Think analytically and strategically about existing levers of institutional reform, improved governance and opportunities for pragmatic change;

5. Be a step closer to becoming reflective practitioners, i.e. professionals endowed with a sophisticated grasp of the opportunities, limits and dangers of action in the international development sphere.

Required ReadingsStudents are required to read one book – Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo – and approximately 30 academic articles and chapters over 14 class sessions. The book is affordable and widely available for purchase. All other required readings are available on NYU Classes.

These readings cover a wide range of topics. Their authors come from different countries and represent different political positions and academic disciplines. Some articles refer to high-income countries and are assigned to call attention to an important theoretical point. Other texts might seem old but they contain the original articulation of a powerful idea.

In the past, students have asked for a textbook. There are some textbooks devoted to international development out there, but they are expensive and do not cover the materials we cover in this course. This is an indication that international development remains a contested field, without a main corpus of agreed upon concepts and theories, and thus it is filled with hopes and possibilities.

NYU ClassesAll announcements and resources will be delivered through NYU Classes.

Academic IntegrityAcademic integrity is a vital component of Wagner and NYU. Each student is required to sign and abide by Wagner’s Academic Code. Plagiarism of any form will not be tolerated since you have all signed an Academic Oath and are bound by the academic code of the school. Every student is expected to maintain academic integrity and is expected to report violations to me. If you are unsure about what is expected of you, ask. Henry and Lucy Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at NYUAcademic accommodations are available for students with disabilities. Please visit the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) website at www.nyu.edu/csd and click on the Reasonable Accommodations and How to Register tab or call or e-

2

https://wagner.nyu.edu/portal/students/policies/code

mail CSD at (212-998-4980 or [email protected]) for information. Students who are requesting academic accommodations are strongly advised to reach out to the Moses Center as early as possible in the semester for assistance.

NYU’s Policy on Religious HolidaysUniversity policy states that members of any religious group may, without penalty, absent themselves from classes when required in compliance with their religious obligations. Students do not need to ask the instructor for permission, but they may choose to notify faculty in advance of such an absence. Whenever feasible, exams and assignment due dates will not be scheduled on religious holidays.

Student ResourcesWagner tutors are available to help students with their writing skills. Please see details on https://wagner.nyu.edu/portal/students/academics/advisement/writing-center.

The web also has some good resources to help you write better. After you finish writing your paper but before you submit it, you can obtain automated readability statistics here: https://igm.rit.edu/~jxs/services/TestReadability.html and some additional feedback here: http://writersdiet.com/test.php .Use these services to improve your prose.

Assignments and EvaluationGrades will be based on participation (30%), two short assignments (15% each), and a final assignment (40%).

Class Participation (30% of total grade) hinges on quality of engagement in classroom discussions over the entire course. All students benefit from high levels of participation, so you are always expected to do readings prior to class, attend class, and contribute to the discussion on a regular basis.

Assignment 1 (10% of total grade) consists of short document (one to two pages) detailing one purposefully distortionary policy adopted by a country of your choice to foster local economic development. Your assignment should include a focused description of the conditions in this country/sector/industry that elicited the policy, the goal being pursued, an assessment of the policy’s logic of action (i.e. its “mechanism”), and the outcomes – positive and negative - it generated. This assignment is due in class, as indicated in the schedule below.

Assignment 2 (10% of total grade) consists of a short document (one to two pages) summarizing how Japan, South Korea, Ireland, or Spain (choose one) ‘developed’ from poor in 1960 to rich in 2017. As you write this assignment,

3

https://www.nyu.edu/about/policies-guidelines-compliance/policies-and-guidelines/university-calendar-policy-on-religious-holidays.html

you will likely realize that different analysts draw different lessons from the same case. You do not have to present the different sides to the debate or examine the multiple complexities of the country’s development process. Rather, you should focus on the policy you think is the most compelling and that can inform decision-making elsewhere in the world. This assignment is due in class, as indicated in the schedule below.

Assignment 3 (10% of total grade) consists of a short document (one to two pages) examining one effort to improve the quality of a public service in a country of your choice. Your assignment must draw from one recent academic article. It should describe the problems that elicited the intervention, the goal being pursued, the policy’s logic of action (i.e. its ‘mechanism”), and the outcomes that the intervention produced. This assignment is due in class, as indicated in the schedule below.

The final assignment (40% of total grade) consists of a personal reflection OR a research paper on a topic of your choice and that connects directly to themes discussed in class. The reflection is individual. The research paper can be written individually, in pairs or trios. Students form their own groups, and everyone in a group receives the same grade. The assignment should have around ten (double-spaced) pages, including title, bibliography and footnotes. This assignment is due at the end of the course, as indicated in the schedule below. To submit it, send it as an attachment to [email protected].

All assignments should be written in Times New Roman size 12, double spaced lines, and one inch margins all around. Please remember to include your name, mailbox # (if available) and page numbers. Adherence to these guidelines demonstrates professionalism and deviance might negatively affect your grade.

Learning Assessment TableGraded Assignment Course Objective CoveredParticipation AllAssignment 1 #1Assignment 2 #2Final Assignment #3, #4 and #5

Grading Scale and RubricStudents will receive grades according to the following scale:

(A) Excellent: Work at this level is unusually thorough, well-reasoned, creative, methodologically sophisticated, and well written. Numeric value=4.0 points.

4

mailto:[email protected]

(A-) Very good: Work at this level shows signs of creativity, is thorough and well-reasoned, indicates strong understanding of appropriate methodological or analytical approaches, and meets professional standards. Numeric value=3.7 points.

(B+) Good: Work is well-reasoned and thorough, methodologically sound. This grade indicates the student has fully accomplished the basic objectives of the course. Numeric value=3.3 points.

(B) Adequate: Competent work for a graduate student even though some weaknesses are evident. Meets key course objectives but evidence suggests that understanding of some important issues is less than complete. Numeric value=3.0 points.

(B-) Borderline: Meets the minimal expectations for a graduate student in the course. Understanding of salient issues is somewhat incomplete. Numeric value=2.7 points.

(C/-/+) Deficient: Work is inadequately developed or flawed by numerous errors and misunderstanding of important issues. Methodological or analytical work performed is weak and fails to demonstrate knowledge or technical competence expected of graduate students. Numeric value = 2.3; 2.0; 1.7 points.

(F) Fail: Work fails to meet even minimal expectations for course credit for a graduate student. Performance has been consistently weak in methodology and understanding, with serious limits in many areas. Weaknesses or limits are pervasive. Numeric value = 0.0 points.

5

Course Overview

1 Sep 10 Poverty and the Challenges of International Development

2 Sep 17 How to create a job?

3 Sep 24 The Developmental State (assignment 1 is due)

4 Oct 1 Structural Adjustment and Market reforms

Oct 8 Fall Break – No Classes

5 Oct 9 Market Institutions (this is a Tuesday)

6 Oct 15 Contracts and the rule of (commercial) law

7 Oct 22 Fostering performance in the private sector

8 Oct 29 Collective action in the marketplace

9 Nov 5 Lessons from History (assignment 2 is due)

10 Nov 12 State Capacity

11 Nov 19 Delivering Public Services I (assignment 3 is due)

12 Nov 26 Delivering Public Services II

13 Dec 3 Working with corruption

14 Dec 10 In-class reflections – this is the last class

Dec 17 Final assignment is due

6

Class 1Poverty and the Challenges of International Development

1 - Required Readings

Boo, Katherine. (2013) Beyond the Beautiful Forevers [book]

Hirschman, Albert O. (1963) "The Contriving of Reform." In: Journeys Toward Progress: Studies of Economic Policy-Making in Latin America. New York, NY: The Twentieth Century Fund, pp. 251-264 and 271-275.

2 – Recommended Readings

Banerjee, A. and Duflo E (2007) The Economic Lives of the Poor, Journal of Economic Perspectives

Hobbes, Michael (2013) Why is Zambia so Poor? The Pacific Standard

Rodrik, Dani (2014) When Ideas Trump Interests: Preferences, Worldviews, and Policy Innovations, Journal of Economic Perspectives 28(1):189-208

3- The readings in context (pointers for readers)

The two required pieces provide a frame for the course. On one side, Katherine Boo’s book gives a vivid and fine-grained portrait of urban poverty. This book is non-fiction; as stated by the author, every single character is real and every single fact is true. When reading this book, you should pay attention to the numerous challenges faced by the main characters, and also the challenges faced by a would-be reformer intent on promoting development in that corner of the world. On the other side, Albert Hirschman’s chapter identifies some of the under-appreciated levers and opportunities for positive reform. When reading this piece, try to imagine how you would find possibilities where others might only see constraints.

On the recommended list, the review article by Banerjee and Duflo allows us to see whether Boo’s portrayal of poverty can be generalized to other settings and countries. The article by Hobbes examines some of the development challenges faced by Zambia, and how they can seem impossible to solve. And Rodrik’s piece provides a more contemporary take on Hirschman’s propositions.

7

Class 2How to create a job

1 - Required Readings

Amsden, Alice (2010) Say’s Law, Poverty Persistence, and Employment Neglect. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 1(1): 57-66.

Rosenstein-Rodan, Paul. (1943). Problems of Industrialization of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. The Economic Journal, vol.53, no 210/211 pp.202-211

Gunder Frank, Andre (1966) The Development of Underdevelopment. Monthly Review. 18(4): 17-31


McMillan, Margaret and Harttgen, K (2014) What is Driving the ‘African Growth Miracle’?

Munk, Nina (2007) Jeffrey Sachs’s $200 Billion Dollar Dream, Vanity Fair [see also her book, “The Idealist”]

Banerjee, Abhijit, Duflo, Esther et al (2015) A Multifaceted Program Causes Lasting Progress for the Very Poor: Evidence from Six Countries

Ravaillon, Martin. (2016) The World Bank: Why it is Still Needed and Why It Still Disappoints, Journal of Economic Perspectives 30(1):77-94

Planet Money [podcast] History of Light (20 mins)


In this session we discuss a piece by Alice Amsden and classic articles by Rosenstein-Rodan and Gunder Frank. When reading the piece by Amsden, notice how she argues against the layering of multiple and relatively small “social” interventions and defends purposeful policies that create jobs. To her, what is holding low- and middle-income countries back? How can these obstacles be removed? And who should be in charge? When reading the piece by Rodan, think of Eastern and Southern Europe as developing countries, and – once again – try to answer the same questions. Would Gunder Frank agree or disagree with Rodan on the main obstacles and ways to overcome them?

On the recommended list, I highly recommend the piece by Margaret McMillan and K. Harttgen, as they test some of the hypotheses that underlie the classical theories of development. I also recommend the Planet Money podcast, as a primer on economic growth, and the piece by M. Ravaillon, who spent 25 years at the World Bank, in which he examines the logic for the WB’s existence and how it actually operates. Finally, Nina Munk provides a vivid description of an integrated intervention in Africa, while Esther Duflo and Banerjee use rigorous

8

methods to test the type of intervention that Amsden criticizes. What do they find? What do you think?

9

Class 3The Developmental State

1 – Required Readings

There are no required readings. The discussion will revolve around your assignment (see below)


Evans, Peter (1995) Embedded Autonomy [book] [highly recommended]

Hamilton, Alexander (1791) Report on Manufactures

Onis, Ziya (1991), The Logic of the Developmental State, Review Article, Comparative Politics

Mazzucatto, Mariana (2011) The Entrepreneurial State [pamphlet, see also book of same title]

Amsden, Alice (1989) Asia’s Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization [book]

Cohen S. and B. DeLong (2016) Concrete Economics: The Hamilton Approach to Economic Growth [book]


Over the years, governments all around the world have taken bold action to steer their economies into more rewarding territory. Some of these governments came to be known as “Developmental States”. In this session, we will use your 1st assignments to ‘crowdsource’ a repertoire of practices of the Developmental State. There are no required readings. But to help you prepare, I suggest you acquaint yourself with the arguments advanced by some of the books or articles listed above.

4 – The assignment

Each student should choose a country and find at least one “dirigiste” or “developmental” policy adopted by its government. By “developmental “, I mean the heavy-handed, highly interventionist policies that were in vogue in most of the Third World (i.e. low-income, non-communist countries) between the end of WWII (1945) and the fall of the Soviet Union (1991). Examples include tariffs, quotas, subsidies, price controls in product, capital, and labor markets, state-owned enterprises, minimum content requirements, and massive public investment in infra-structure and other public goods.

10

Your summary should include country, year(s), the policy, its goals, and its results. Much has been written about Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, India, and China. For this reason, I encourage you to examine policies adopted elsewhere, such as the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

11

Class 4Structural Adjustment and Market Reforms


Krueger, Anne. (1990). “Government Failures in Development,” Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 9-23.

Williamson, John (1990) What Washington Means by Policy Reform? Chapter 2 from Latin American Adjustment: How Much Has Happened? Edited by John Williamson. Pages 7-20.

Sachs, Jeffrey. (2006) The End of Poverty, Bolivia’s High-Altitude Hyperinflation (chapter 5)

2 - Recommended Readings

Bhagwati (1982), Directly Unproductive Profit-Seeking (DUP) Activities

DeLong, B. J. and Eichengreen B. (1991), The Marshall Plan as a Structural Adjustment Program

Strange, Susan (1995). The Defective State

Sachs, Jeffrey (2012). What I did in Russia

Babb, Sarah (2013) The Washington Consensus as transnational policy paradigm: its origins, trajectory and likely successor. Review of International Political Economy


In this session, we discuss a classic piece by Anne Krueger, in which she analyzes the failings of government as an agent of economic development. To complement her perspective, I recommend Jagdish Bhagwati’s classic piece on “DUP” activities. According to these authors, what happens when governments try to intervene in the economy, and why? We also read John Williamson’s original formulation of the “Washington Consensus”. According to these prescriptions, what is the proper role of governments in the economy? Finally, we read a testimonial by Jeffrey Sachs on how he helped Bolivia overcome serious macroeconomic malfunctions in the mid-1980s. In a subsequent (recommended) piece, he describes his involvement in Russia. Drawing from the readings, what was the tenor of his advice to Bolivia? And given what he saw and did in Bolivia, would Sachs agree or disagree with Krueger’s diagnostic, and Williamson’s policy advice?

12

To complement these pieces, I highly recommend you read (or skim) an assessment of the Marshall Plan by Bradford deLong and Barry Eichengreen. Scholars and policy-makers often use history to illuminate the path ahead. In this case, what does the Marshall Plan tells us about the best way to prop up a failing economy?

13

Class 5Market Institutions

1 – Required Readings:

North, D. (1991) Institutions, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1): 97-112

De Soto (2001) The Mystery of Capital, Finance and Development, International Monetary Fund

Acemoglu, D, James Robinson and Simon Johnson (2001) The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation, The American Economic Review (read the main points only, econometrics not necessary)

2 – Recommended Readings:

McMillan, John (2008) Market Institutions, Palgrave Dictionary of Economics

World Bank (1998) Beyond the Washington Consensus: Institutions Matter

Galiani and Schagrodsky (2010): Property Rights for the Poor: Effects of Land Titling, Journal of Public Economics

Rose, Carol (1988) Crystals and Mud in Property Law, Stanford Law Review

Mitchell, Timothy (2005) The work of economics: How a discipline makes its world, European Journal of Sociology


This week, we read Douglass North’s classic piece on “Institutions”. This article provides a frame for many of our future discussions. To complement this piece, you might read (or skim) the World Bank’s report titled “Beyond the Washington Consensus”, McMillan’s more short and recent overview (2008) or his excellent book (2002), Reinventing the Bazaar. According to North, what are institutions and why do they matter?

Then, we read Hernando de Soto’s article about “property rights”. When reading this piece (a summary of his famous book with same title), try to identify why property rights matter, and who should provide (and protect) it. On the recommended list, Galliani and Schagrodsky (2010) use a natural experiment to test some of de Soto’s contentions. And Carol Rose (a law professor) draws from US history to check whether it meets the standard set by de Soto. I also recommend Mitchell’s sharp criticism of de Soto’s position.

Finally, we read a famous piece by Acemoglu, Robinson and Johnson (2001), in which the authors use a clever instrument to solve a critical economic debate:

14

do good institutions cause growth, or is it growth that allows countries to afford ‘good’ institutions?

15

Class 6Private contracts and the rule of (commercial) law


Geertz, C. (1978) The Bazaar Economy: Information and Search in Peasant Marketing

Fafchamps, Marcel and Bart Minten (2001). Property Rights in a Flea Market Economy. Economic Development and Cultural Change. 49(2) [read for the main points, econometrics not necessary]

Farrell, Henry (2015) Dark Leviathan, Aeon Magazine


Black, Bernard (2000) "The Core Institutions that Support Strong Securities Markets," Business Lawyer, Vol. 55, pp. 1565-1607

Warren, Elizabeth (2007) Unsafe at Any Rate, Democracy Journal

La Porta et al (1997) Legal Determinants of External Finance, The Journal of Finance

McMillan and Woodruff (2002) The Central Role of Entrepreneurs in Transition Economies, JEP


We start this session discussing Clifford Geertz short article in which he examines a Moroccan bazaar. If you lived in such a place, and had to make a living, how would you operate? And if you were asked for advice on how to enhance local economic activity, what would you suggest?

Then, we read Fafchamps and Minten (2001)’s assessment of the market for grains in Madagascar. This article is fairly long, but we are not interested in the mathematics. Rather, try to put yourself in the traders’ shoes, and understand how they behave, why they do it, and what are the aggregate consequences caused by their behavior. To complement these pieces, you can also read McMillan and Woodruff (2002) overview of entrepreneurs in Russia, Poland, China and Vietnam during the transition from Communism to Capitalism. What is the main limitation that these buyers and sellers face? Should we care about the se limitations? If so, how can these bottlenecks be removed?

Finally, we discuss Farrell’s (2015) vivid description of the “silk road”, a secret online market for illegal drugs, arms, and services. When reading this piece, try to identify the reason why this market fell apart, what it would need to thrive, and how this ingredient could be provided.

16

On the recommended list, we move away from tangible commodities and examine financial products. Black analyzes the pre-requisites for the establishment of a successful capital market (see la Porta et al 2007 for a seminal discussion on the topic). And Elizabeth Warren tackles the same question, but from the point of view of consumers of credit.

17

Class 7Fostering performance in the private sector


Hirschman, Albert O. (1958) The Strategy of Economic Growth; chapter 1 (skip “The Idea of Change…” pp 11-24); chapter 4 recommended

Tendler, J. and M. Amorim (1996) Small Firms and their Helpers, 24(3): 407-426

Schrank, A. (2013) From disguised protectionism to rewarding regulation: The impact of trade-related labor standards in the Dominican Republic. Regulation & Governance. 7(3): 299–320


Planet Money (2017) How Stuff Gets Cheaper (podcast, 15 mins)

Syverson C (2011) What determines productivity? Journal of Economic Literature

Dubin, Kenneth (2012), Adjusting to the Law The Role of Beliefs in Firms’ Responses to Regulation, Politics and Society

Verhoogen, Eric (2016) How Labor Standards Can Be Good for Growth, Harvard Business Review

Pipkin, Seth and Alberto Fuentes (2017) Spurred to Upgrade: A Review of Triggers and Consequences of Industrial Upgrading in the Global Value Chain Literature, World Development


During this session we discuss a different approach to improving private sector productivity. We start off with a piece by Albert O. Hirschman from his seminal book, The Strategy of Economic Growth. According to AOH, what holds low- and middle-income countries back, and how can they be propelled forward?

To illustrate some of these ideas, we read Tendler’s and Schrank’s articles. What did the government do to help create good jobs in these settings? Can you think of other examples, similar to the ones discussed in these pieces, on how governments can help private firms improve their performance? What are the costs, risks, and benefits of this type of intervention? And are there pre-requisites we must be aware of?

18

Finally does this kind of government action conform to the prescriptions we have already examined (for instance, as suggested by North, or de Soto), or do they suggest a new way of thinking?

19

Class 8Collective action in the marketplace


Skyrm, Brian (2001) The Stag Hunt, Presidential Address, American Philosophical Association.

Naseer, Farooq (2005) Whither Quality? Incentives in the Sugarcane Market in Pakistan

Coslovsky, S. (2014) Economic Development without Pre-Requisites: How Bolivian producers met strict food safety standards and dominated the global brazil nut market, World Development. Volume 54, Pages 32–45


Sabel, Charles et al (2012) Export Pioneers in Latin America. IADB [the introduction is highly recommended]

Iskander, Lowe and Riordan (2010) The rise and fall of a micro-learning region: Mexican immigrants and construction in center-south Philadelphia

Nadvi, K (1999) Collective Efficiency and Collective Failures: The response of the Sialkot Surgical Instrument Clusters to Global Quality Pressures, World Development

Locke, Richard (2001) Building Trust, working paper


Markets, clusters and supply chains require a governance structure to function properly. During this session we read a theoretical piece by Brian Skyrm (2001) that discusses the importance of coordination. Next, we read a paper by Naseer Farooq (2005) that examines the market for sugarcane in Pakistan so we can understand what happens when certain governance structures are absent.

Finally, we read an article that I wrote that compares the performance of an industry in Brazil and Bolivia, and examines how the Bolivians acquired proper governance structures while the Brazilians fell behind. To complement this piece, you might want to read the pieces by Natasha Iskander, Richard Locke, Khalid Nadvi, and the various chapters of the book edited by Charles Sabel, as they provide many additional examples of this phenomenon. When reading these pieces, try to consider what these governance structures look like, the role they play, and how they can be acquired and maintained.

20

Class 9Lessons from History


There are no required readings. The class will revolve around your assignments.


Holmes, Jamie (2015) The Case for Teaching Ignorance, NYT Op-ed, Aug 24th

Rodrik, Dani (2009) “Introduction” in One Economics, Many Recipes, Princeton University Press


This class provides a closure to the first section of this course, and the recommended readings help us consider how we should use the knowledge we have acquired so far. The first piece, by Jamie Holmes, is a paean to uncertainty and curiosity. The second, by Dani Rodrik (the introduction to a collection of his papers), discusses the tension and complementarity between general rules must and specific context. When reading these pieces, and writing your assignment, you should consider how the different theories we have discussed can be applied to cases you care about, and which questions you should be asking next.

4- The assignment

‘Development’ is a surprisingly tough endeavor. According to World Bank data, only four large countries – Japan, South Korea, Ireland, and Spain - have moved from poor in 1960 to rich in 2017. Other countries, such as China, Thailand, Chile and Brazil, have done OK, but are still far from rich in per capita terms.

Numerous analysts have pored over the four countries’ trajectories to understand how they did it, and to draw lessons for other countries today. To prepare this assignment, you should choose one of these four countries, find and read some of the relevant analyses, and then summarize the most compelling insights into a short (one to two page) document.

As you write your assignment, imagine that it was commissioned by a politician who wants to use your insights in her campaign speeches: “Country X got rich by doing Y, and – if elected – I’ll do it too!”.

The best submissions will be parsimonious and conclusive. Also important, they should contain some supporting evidence (why you think your point is true?), a brief discussion on the limitations of the insight (i.e. caveats and reasons to be skeptical of its validity), and a list of the sources you used.

21

Alternatively, if after doing the research you conclude that you can’t issue a good recommendation, you should say so. After all, you don’t want your candidate to be embarrassed in public.

22

Class 10State Capacity


Dixit, Avinash (2012) Bureaucracy, its Reform, and Development

Blumenthal WM (1979) Candid Reflections of a Businessman in Washington, Fortune Magazine, Jan 29. Pp. 36-49.

Gordon, Akka (2000) Taking Liberties. City Limits.


Leonard, David (1991), African Successes: Four Public Managers of Kenyan Rural Development [book]

Evans, Peter and James Rauch (1999) Bureaucracy and Growth: A Cross-National Analysis of the Effects of "Weberian" State Structures on Economic Growth, American Journal of Sociology

Chetkovich, Carol and David Kirp (2001) Cases and Controversies: How novitiates are trained to be masters of the public policy universe, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 20 (2), pp 283-314


In this session, we read a paper by Avinash Dixit in which he discusses why public servants do what they do, and why “bad” performance might seem like a chronic feature of government agencies. Even though he is drawing mostly from James Q. Wilson’s vivid book “Bureaucracy” (1989), Dixit’s summary can be dry and abstract. As you read it, try to think of examples to illustrate the different points that he makes.

To help in this task, we also read two testimonies by former public officials describing the challenges they faced when working in government. W. Michael Blumenthal served as Secretary of Treasury for President Carter. Akka Gordon was a caseworker with NYC Child Protection Services. What did they see, what did they learn, and in which ways do their experiences illustrate or challenge the points raised by Dixit?

23

Class 11Delivering public services I


There are no required readings. The discussion will revolve around your assignments.


Bold, Tessa et al (2017) Enrollment without Learning: Teacher Effort, Knowledge, and Skill in Primary Schools in Africa. Journal of Economic Perspectives 31:4, 185-204

Kremer et al (2013) The Challenge of Education and Learning in the Developing World, Science 340, 297-300.

Chaudhury et al (2006) Missing in Action: Teacher and Health Worker Absence in Developing Countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol 20, pp No 1. 91-116

Das et al (2008) The Quality of Medical Advice in Low Income Countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol 22, No 2. Pp 93-114

Muralidharan K. et al (2016) The Fiscal Cost of Weak Governance: Evidence from Teacher Absence in India

Russakoff, Dale (2014), Schooled, New Yorker [see her subsequent book, “The Prize”]

Prasad, Monica et al (2017) Combatting Corruption Among Civil Servants: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on What Works, USAID Report


The recommended readings by Bold, Kremer, Chaudhury, Das, Muralidharan and their co-authors provide a bleak picture of government capacity in low- and middle-income countries. You don’t have to dwell on the details, but you should get acquainted with the main points that they make. In turn, the article by Dale Russakoff explains how a group of high-powered philanthropists and ambitious politicians from both parties strived to fix such a problem in Newark, NJ, to little avail. Finally, Prasad and co-authors provides a wide-ranging review of the existing literature on how government services can be improved.

4- The assignment

How can we tackle the problems outlined by the articles above? To answer this question, you should choose, read, and summarize into a one-or two-page

24

document a recent academic article that examines an effort to improve the delivery of any public service in a low- or middle-income country. When reading your chosen article, you should identify the problem that triggered action, the relevant details of the policy that the government implemented, its implicit or explicit logic of action, and the results it delivered.

25

Class 12Delivering Public Services II


Tendler J. and S. Freedheim (1996) Trust in a Rent-Seeking World: Health and Government Transformed in Northeastern Brazil. World Development. Volume 22, Issue 12, December 1994, Pages 1771-1791

Ravitch, Diane (2012) Schools we can envy, New York Review of Books

Mangla, Akshay. (2014) "Bureaucratic Norms and State Capacity: Implementing Primary Education in India's Himalayan Region." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 14-099

Rasul and Rogger (2012) Management of Bureaucrats and Public Service Delivery: Evidence from the Nigerian Civil Service (read abstract / highlights only, mathematics not required, for a summary interpretation, see discussion by Markus Goldstein at World Bank’s Impact Evaluation blog)


Joshi, A (1999) Progressive Bureaucracy: An Oxymoron? The case of joint forest management in India

Masud. Mohammad (2002) Co-producing citizen security: The citizen-police liason committee in Karachi. IDS working paper 172

Coslovsky and Nigam (2016) Building Prosecutorial Autonomy from Within

Ton, Zeynep (2012), Why Good Jobs are Good for Retailers, HBR (see also her book “The Good Jobs Strategy”]


Three of the readings are case studies of successful delivery of public services. Tendler examines preventative health in Brazil; Ravitch examines primary education in Finland; and Mangla analyzes primary school in India. Finally, the piece by Rasul and Rogge provide a large-n study of the same question, in Nigeria (read the abstract / highlights only). What is the common thread that runs through these studies? How were these programs designed? Were there risks involved in their implementation? How can their success be replicated?

26

Class 13 Working with corruption


Hirschman, Albert (1965) Obstacles to Development: A Classification and a Quasi-Vanishing Act, Economic Development and Cultural Change 13: 4, 385-393

Teaford, Jon C. (1984). The Unheralded Triumph: City Government in America, 1870-1900. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. Chapter 1

Darden, Keith (2008) The Integrity of Corrupt States: Graft as an Informal State Institution, Politics & Society. vol. 36 no. 1 pp. 35-59

Ha, Yong-Chool and Myung-Koo Kang. (2011). Creating a Capable Bureaucracy with Loyalists: The Internal Dynamics of the South Korean Developmental State, 1948-1979. Comparative Political Studies vol. 44 no. 1. pp 78-108


Scott, James C. (1969). "Corruption, Machine Politics, and Political Change." American Political Science Review 63 (no. 4, December): 1142-1158.

Ellwood, John, Patashnik, Eric (1993). "In Praise of Pork." The Public Interest (110):19-33.

Davis, Jennifer, (2004) “Corruption in Public Services: Experiences from South Asia’s Water and Sanitation Sector”. World Development, Vol. 32 (2004), No. 1, pp. 53-71.

Arriola, L. (2009) Patronage and Political Stability in Africa, Comparative Political Studies


In this session we examine the problems of corruption, clientelism, patronage and other maladies that often affect the public sector. On his piece, Hirschman proposes a provocative taxonomy for the perceived “obstacles to development”. How do we know what is an obstacle, and what should be done about them? The other three pieces help us apply Hirschman’s framework to the problem of corruption. This is a charged topic, and students often have strong (and deeply ingrained) opinions about corruption. When reading these pieces, try to identify your own beliefs concerning the relationship between corruption and development, whether they should be updated, and how.

27

Class 14In Class Reflection – course wrap up

1 - Required

Wright, Erik Olin. (2015) How to be an Anticapitalist Today, Jacobin Magazine

2 - Recommended

Giridharadas, Anand (2018) Beware Rich People Who Say They Want to Change the World, NYT Op-ed

3 – The readings in context (pointers for readers)

Erik Olin Wright is a well-known sociologist who wrote a provocative piece about capitalism and inequality. In turn, Anand Giridharadas recently authored a book (summarized in this op-ed) denouncing the allure of social entrepreneurship and calling attention to the dangers of “fake change”.

As we think about international development, are we arguing against Wright (and Giridharadas) or with them? If the latter, Wright lays out different modes of action. Where do you see yourself?

Above all, students should come to class prepared to reflect on the whole course, their personal experiences, and what they have learned. Accretions to knowledge are good, but real learning often requires that we change our mind. What have you changed your mind about?

28

padm-gp 2201 - robert f. wagner graduate school … · web viewin the past, students have asked for...

Documents