Do policies designed to promote development around the world actually work? Do they sometimes produce effects we didn't expect? This seminar teaches the experimental method of social science research and applies it to these questions. Students will read examples of how social scientists have used experiments to study international development---broadly defined---including foreign aid, conflict and violence, illicit finance, elections, climate cooperation, trafficking in persons, and migration. Over the course of the seminar, students will design and analyze their own experimental research project and will write either an academic research article or an impact evaluation policy report. The seminar is especially appropriate for sophomores or juniors who are considering summer research or writing a thesis in government, but relevant to any student considering a career in policy or social science. |