Development Economics

NYU Econ UA-323 (010), Fall 2026
194 Mercer Street, Room 304, T-Th 09.30-10.45 am

Debraj Ray, Room 608, 18 West 4th Street
debraj.ray@nyu.edu, Office Hours M2.30-5.00pm, preferably by appointment; please email me in advance

Course Assistant: Rishabh Malhotra developmenteconfall26@gmail.com
Office hours: Th 2:45pm-4.30pm, 19 West 4th Street Room 716.

Reading Material for the Course. Links to the material below are also contained in the Syllabus tab. See the Slides tab for slides.

A. Chapters from the updated version of Debraj Ray, Development Economics.

Ch 2: Overview

Ch 3: Basic Growth Theory

Ch 4: Convergence

Ch 6: Structural Transformation

Ch 7: Development Traps I

Ch 8: Development Traps II

Ch 10: Economic Inequality

Ch 11: Inequality and Development

Ch 19: Credit Markets Part 1

Ch 20: Credit Markets Part 2

Conflict Part 1

Conflict Part 2

B. Other readings referred to in the Syllabus.

Ray, D. (2010), "Uneven Growth: a Framework for Research in Development Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives 24, 45-60.

Mankiw, N.G., Romer, D. and D. N. Weil (1992), "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth," Quarterly Journal of Economics 107, 407-437.

Pritchett, L. (1997), "Divergence, Big Time," Journal of Economic Perspectives 11, 3-17.

Rosenstein-Rodan, P. (1943), "Problems of Industrialization of Eastern and Southeastern Europe,'' Economic Journal 53, 202-211

Angrist, J. and A. Kreuger (2001), "Instrumental Variables and the Search for Identification: From Supply and Demand to Natural Experiments," Journal of Economic Perspectives 15, 69--85.

Sokoloff, K. and S. Engerman (2000), "History Lessons: Institutions, Factor Endowments, and Paths of Development in the New World," Journal of Economic Perspectives 14, 217--232.

Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S. and J. Robinson (2001), "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review 91, 1369--1401./p>

Alesina, A. Giuliano, P. and N. Nunn (2013), "On the Origins of Gender Roles: Women and the Plough," Quarterly Journal of Economics 128, 469-530.

Anderson, S. and D. Ray (2010), "Missing Women: Age and Disease," Review of Economic Studies 77, 1262--1300.

Munshi, K. and J. Myaux (2006), "Social Norms and the Fertility Transition," Journal of Development Economics 80, 1--38.

Ray, D. and J. Esteban (2017), "Conflict and Development," Annual Review of Economics 9, 263-293.

Esteban, J., Mayoral, L. and D. Ray (2012), "Ethnicity and Conflict: Theory and Facts," Science 336, 858--865.

Mitra, A. and D. Ray (2014), "Implications of an Economic Theory of Conflict: Hindu-Muslim Violence in India," Journal of Political Economy 122, 719--765.