The Conflicting Effect of Obesity and Undernourishment on Average Life Expectancy by Sangeeta Bansal, Shivana Gupta, Jacob Lefler, and David Zilberman. Here are the full-length versions of Tables 2 and 3 of the paper.
Perspective on life in Germany
I went to a conference in Brussels organized by my friend Justus Wesseler. He wanted to introduce me to his roots in Germany, so we traveled to his mother’s house near Munster, which is 300Km from Brussels. It may take 2.5 hours as there is no speed limit on the German Autobahn and some drive… Continue reading Perspective on life in Germany
Agriculture as Economic Development
https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/blog/global-food-thought/guest-commentary-agriculture-economic-development Editor’s Note: As part of our new blog series, The Next Generation, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs is inviting a diverse group of experts to explore topics related to youth employement and agriculture in advance of the 2018 Global Food and Security Symposium. Join the discussion using #GlobalAg, and tune in to the symposium live… Continue reading Agriculture as Economic Development
Take-Home Exam
DevP 233 Take-Home Exam Spring 2017 David Zilberman Explain the following terms and their significance: Median Voter Theorem Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem Rent seeking behavior Regulatory capture PEST vs. PERT transfers Risk aversion, risk neutrality vs. loss aversion Prospect theory Bayesian learning Asymmetric information Principal-agent problem Explain the behavior of a politician (or regulator) as… Continue reading Take-Home Exam
Rent-seeking and the distribution of surplus
Rent-seeking and the distribution of surplus DEVP 233 Spring 2017 Rent is one of the most important concepts in economics. It is the amount paid for a factor of production above and beyond what it needs to be economically viable. Practically speaking, if you operate a firm with labor, machines, and space, the difference… Continue reading Rent-seeking and the distribution of surplus
On the economic discipline: How political economy and development economics fit
On the economic discipline: How political economy and development economics fit DevP 233 Spring 2017 This segment of the course is about political economy. Political economy is an important part of economics and our analysis aims to be relevant to issues of development, agriculture and international relations. Economics is a scientific discipline, and political… Continue reading On the economic discipline: How political economy and development economics fit
DevP 233 Syllabus: Law, Politics, and Policymaking
DevP 233 Law, Politics, and Policymaking SPRING 2017 Tu, Th. 2-3:30 311 Wellman Hall Zilberman Addendum 3/7 – Lecture 17 – On the economic discipline: How political economy and development economics fit The purpose of the lecture is to enhance students’ understanding of scientific disciplines and how they evolve, as well as the… Continue reading DevP 233 Syllabus: Law, Politics, and Policymaking
The Economics of Voting
The Economics of Voting DEVP 233 Spring 2017 Two major ideas of economics are that agents pursue self-interest subject to constraints (profit maximizing subject to budget constraint) and that interaction of actor choices (supply vs demand) generate value and result in allocation of resources. Political systems set choices on decision making that affect the… Continue reading The Economics of Voting
Political Economy of Agriculture and other topics
Political Economy of Agriculture and other topics DEVP 233 Agriculture is perceived to be a competitive industry, but in reality it has been regulated for years. First we will speak about the history of US agriculture, which has been a major topic of agricultural policy research because the US moved from a developing… Continue reading Political Economy of Agriculture and other topics
Economics of Risk and Uncertainty- implications for political economy
Economics of Risk and Uncertainty- implications for political economy DEVP 233 Political and economic choices are made under conditions of risk and uncertainty. People don’t know their future and it is subject to random events, for example weather. Furthermore, there are differences among individuals and groups that reflect heterogeneity. Both randomness and heterogeneity… Continue reading Economics of Risk and Uncertainty- implications for political economy