Calendar

LEC # TOPICS FILMS/VIDEOS
Introduction
1 Introduction: What this class is about

The diary of Jeffrey Sachs and Angelina Jolie in Africa.

Bill Easterly on the failure of aid in Africa.
2 What is a poverty trap?  
3 Learning what works: The role of experiments Esther Duflo's TED Talk. "Social Experiments to Fight Poverty."
Food
4 The nature of famine Asani Sanket (Distant Thunder). Directed by Satyajit Ray. India, 1973.
5 Is there a nutrition based trap-the demand for food and calories  
6 Is there a nutrition based poverty trap-the hidden trap  
Health
7 Delivering healthcare, a case study from India The Name of the Disease. Directed by Abhijit Banerjee, Arundhati Banerjee, and Bappa Sen. Edited by Sumit Ghosh. 2006.
8 Low hanging fruit: Understanding healthcare behavior in developing countries  
Education
9 Setting the stage Educating Yaparak. Directed by Di Tatham. Bullfrog Films, 2005.
10 Is it possible to deliver quality education to the poor?: The Pratham-JPAL Partnership  
11 Education: The man-made trap  
Family
12 (Somewhat) un-orthodox findings on the family  
13 How do families decide?  
14 Gender discrimination  
Risk and Insurance
15 Risk and insurance  
16 Insurance  
Credit
17 The (not so simple) economics of lending to the poor Credit Where Credit Is Due. Directed by Ashley Bruce. Bullfrog Films, 2000.
18 The (not so simple) economics of lending to the poor, cont.  
Savings
19 The promise and peril of microfinance  
20 Savings  
21 Savings 2  
Entrepreneurship
22 Entrepreneurship and workers  
23 Entrepreneurship and workers (cont.)  
Political Economy
24 Policies, politics: Can evidence play a role in the fight against poverty?  
25 Policies, politics: Can evidence play a role in the fight against poverty? (cont.) Abhijit Banerjee's trailer for film about voting in India.
26 Five thoughts in place of a sweeping conclusion