Empirical Studies in the Political Economy of Development

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This research consists of three empirical studies in the political economy of development. It combines sensible empirical techniques with a rich Indian district panel data set to study how economic development affects, and is affected by, the functioning of political institutions. The first study uses data on large dam construction to study how the political process affects public good provision, and thereby economic development. This study exploits differences in the geographic potential of dam construction in districts and in their political influence for identification. The second study uses Indian district-level data to study how differential rates of economic growth across occupations interacts with occupational choices of different religious groups to affect the likelihood of group conflict, particularly the incidence of communal violence. By improving our understanding of how economic development affects group conflict, this study will contribute to the policy debate on the optimal architecture of governance in low-income countries. The third study uses a field survey to examine how economic development affects the incidence of politician corruption. The results of this study will help us assess the relative importance of political and economic reforms in reducing corruption in poor countries. The research will also develop curricula for advanced undergraduate and graduate development economics courses, with a special focus on the political economy of development. The curricula will integrate the use of data sets from low-income countries and theoretical analysis. These three studies have the potential to greatly expand our understanding of the relationship between economic development and political processes in low-income countries. The data collected for this research will be very useful to other researchers. The proposed educational agenda of this research will also make the political economy of development an integral part of development economics courses.