The Challenge of World Poverty

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