DEV-206: Firms, Markets, and Economic Development

This course studies firms and markets in developing countries and emerging markets, and examines industrial policy in developing countries from a microeconomic perspective. The frameworks we develop will be relevant to students with an interest in international development, as well as those interested in pursuing careers in developing countries. A further objective of the course is to develop a solid analytical framework combined with rigorous empirical methods to analyze policy questions.

We will begin with an overview of some stylized facts about firms and markets in developing countries. With that as a background, we set up basic models used in industrial organization and organizational economics, particularly focusing on analyzing the incentives and institutional structures faced by firms operating in these environments and the interlinked relationship between government policies and firm growth in the process of economic development. Our discussions will be guided by economics research and analysis from the past couple of decades, drawing insights from industrial organization, organizational economics, and international trade.