Economics 349FM - Institutional Formation & Dev

Economists have long recognized the role of institutions in the development process. Institutions are formal and informal arrangements that govern social interactions. This class is an exploration of how institutions form, how they are sustained, and their consequences for the development process. In the first part of the course, we develop an understanding of simple games used to analyze various social interactions. We then explore how this theoretical apparatus is used in understanding formal and informal institutions governing a variety of social and economic relationships. These relationships will include land ownership, labor, gender relations, and bribery.

Prereq: ECON-211 and ECON-212.