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 any student considering a career in policy or social science.
Throughout this course, students will learn about experimental methods. They will also learn how to form a research question, conceptualize and measure variables, develop testable hypotheses, select an appropriate case/unit of analysis, write a literature review. These skills may be especially helpful for students who pursue an honors thesis or other original research project. |