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Understanding Development: An Economics Perspective

Reading list

Every reading this course assigns, module by module, with the best free copy we could find.

74 readings29 free to read11 on request34 books

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Module 1. Module 1: What is Development?

  1. Roser, M., Ortiz-Ospina, E. et al. Human Development Index (HDI). Our World in Data.Read it free
  2. Ray, D. (1998). Development Economics. Princeton University Press. Chapters 1-3.Publisher pageBook
  3. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford University Press. Introduction and Chapter 1.Publisher pageBook
  4. Banerjee, A. V. and Duflo, E. (2011). Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty. PublicAffairs.Publisher pageBook
  5. Drèze, J. and Sen, A. (2013). An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions. Princeton University Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 2. Module 2: Measuring Development

  1. Roser, M. et al. Economic Growth. Our World in Data.Read it free
  2. UNDP (2024). Human Development Report 2023/2024: Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarized World. United Nations Development Programme.Read it free
  3. UNDP and OPHI (2023). Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023: Unstacking Global Poverty: Data for High-Impact Action. United Nations Development Programme and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.Read it free
  4. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford University Press. Chapters 3-4.Publisher pageBook
  5. Nussbaum, M. C. (2000). Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook
  6. UNDP (2010). Human Development Report 2010: The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development. United Nations Development Programme.Read it free

Module 3. Module 3: Poverty & Inequality

  1. Roser, M., Ortiz-Ospina, E. et al. Economic Inequality. Our World in Data.Read it free
  2. Ray, D. (1998). Development Economics. Princeton University Press. Chapter 6.Publisher pageBook
  3. Chancel, L., Piketty, T., Saez, E. and Zucman, G. (2022). World Inequality Report 2022. World Inequality Lab.Read it free
  4. Deaton, A. (2013). The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality. Princeton University Press.Publisher pageBook
  5. Alkire, S. and Foster, J. (2011). Counting and Multidimensional Poverty Measurement. Journal of Public Economics, 95(7-8), 476-487.Publisher pageSubscription
  6. Planning Commission (2009). Report of the Expert Group to Review the Methodology for Estimation of Poverty (Tendulkar Committee). Government of India.Read it free

Module 4. Module 4: Growth Models

  1. Dalgaard, C.-J. and Erickson, L. (2006). Solow Versus Harrod-Domar: Reexamining the Aid Costs of the First Millennium Development Goal. IMF Working Paper WP/06/284. International Monetary Fund.Read it free
  2. Ray, D. (1998). Development Economics. Princeton University Press. Chapters 3-4.Publisher pageBook
  3. Solow, R. M. (1956). A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70(1), 65-94.Publisher pageSubscription
  4. Rodrik, D. (2007). One Economics, Many Recipes: Globalization, Institutions, and Economic Growth. Princeton University Press.Publisher pageBook
  5. Bardhan, P. (2010). Awakening Giants, Feet of Clay: Assessing the Economic Rise of China and India. Princeton University Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 5. Module 5: Agriculture & Rural Development

  1. Roser, M. et al. Employment in Agriculture. Our World in Data.Read it free
  2. Schultz, T. W. (1964). Transforming Traditional Agriculture. Yale University Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Agarwal, B. (1994). A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook
  4. Banerjee, A. V. and Duflo, E. (2007). The Economic Lives of the Poor. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(1), 141-167.Read it free

Module 6. Module 6: Industrialization & Structural Change

  1. Atolia, M., Loungani, P., Marquis, M. and Papageorgiou, C. (2018). Rethinking Development Policy: Deindustrialization, Servicification and Structural Transformation. IMF Working Paper WP/18/223. International Monetary Fund.Read it free
  2. Amsden, A. H. (2001). The Rise of 'The Rest': Challenges to the West from Late-Industrializing Economies. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Chibber, V. (2003). Locked in Place: State-Building and Late Industrialization in India. Princeton University Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 7. Module 7: Education & Human Capital

  1. Roser, M. et al. Global Education. Our World in Data.Read it free
  2. Rodrik, D. (2008). Normalizing Industrial Policy. Commission on Growth and Development Working Paper No. 3. World Bank.Read it free
  3. Muralidharan, K. and Sundararaman, V. (2015). The Aggregate Effect of School Choice: Evidence from a Two-Stage Experiment in India. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(3), 1011-1066.Read it free

Module 8. Module 8: Health & Nutrition

  1. Roser, M., Ritchie, H. and Rosado, P. Hunger and Undernourishment. Our World in Data.Read it free
  2. Ray, D. (1998). Development Economics. Princeton University Press. Chapter 13.Publisher pageBook
  3. Deaton, A. (2013). The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality. Princeton University Press. Chapter 3.Publisher pageBook
  4. Das, J. and Hammer, J. (2007). Location, Location, Location: Residence, Wealth, and the Quality of Medical Care in Delhi, India. Health Affairs, 26(3), w338-w351.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 9. Module 9: Credit & Financial Inclusion

  1. World Bank (2025). The Global Findex Database 2025. World Bank.Read it free
  2. Morduch, J. (1999). The Microfinance Promise. Journal of Economic Literature, 37(4), 1569-1614.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Banerjee, A., Karlan, D. and Zinman, J. (2015). Six Randomized Evaluations of Microcredit: Introduction and Further Steps. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(1), 1-21.Publisher pageSubscription
  4. Reserve Bank of India (2014). Report of the Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income Households (Chair: Nachiket Mor). RBI.Read it free

Module 10. Module 10: Trade & Globalization

  1. Ortiz-Ospina, E., Beltekian, D. and Roser, M. Trade and Globalization. Our World in Data.Read it free
  2. Drèze, J. and Sen, A. (2013). An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions. Princeton University Press. Chapter 6.Publisher pageBook
  3. Stiglitz, J. E. (2002). Globalization and Its Discontents. W. W. Norton.Publisher pageBook
  4. Rodrik, D. (2011). The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy. W. W. Norton.Publisher pageBook
  5. Subramanian, A. (2011). Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China's Economic Dominance. Peterson Institute for International Economics.Publisher pageBook

Module 11. Module 11: Institutions & Governance

  1. Ortiz-Ospina, E. and Roser, M. Corruption. Our World in Data.Read it free
  2. Drèze, J. and Sen, A. (2013). An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions. Princeton University Press. Chapter 5.Publisher pageBook
  3. ASER Centre (2023). Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2023: Beyond Basics. ASER Centre.Read it free
  4. Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J. A. (2012). Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Crown Business.Publisher pageBook
  5. North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook
  6. Bardhan, P. (2005). Scarcity, Conflicts, and Cooperation: Essays in the Political and Institutional Economics of Development. MIT Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 12. Module 12: Policy Evaluation & the RCT Revolution

  1. J-PAL. About J-PAL. Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, MIT.Read it free
  2. Banerjee, A. V. and Duflo, E. (2011). Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty. PublicAffairs.Publisher pageBook
  3. Duflo, E., Glennerster, R. and Kremer, M. (2006). Using Randomization in Development Economics Research: A Toolkit. NBER Technical Working Paper 333.Read it free
  4. Deaton, A. (2010). Instruments, randomization, and learning about development. Journal of Economic Literature, 48(2), 424-455.Publisher pageSubscription
  5. Gertler, P. J., Martinez, S., Premand, P., Rawlings, L. B. and Vermeersch, C. M. J. (2016). Impact Evaluation in Practice, 2nd edition. World Bank.Read it free

Module 13. Module 13: Capstone Project

  1. Roser, M. The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better. Our World in Data.Read it free
  2. Ray, D. (1998). Development Economics. Princeton University Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Banerjee, A. V. and Duflo, E. (2011). Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty. PublicAffairs.Publisher pageBook
  4. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  5. Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J. A. (2012). Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Crown Business.Publisher pageBook
  6. Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S. and Robinson, J. A. (2001). The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation. American Economic Review, 91(5), 1369-1401.Read it free
  7. North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook
  8. Banerjee, A., Karlan, D. and Zinman, J. (2015). Six Randomized Evaluations of Microcredit: Introduction and Further Steps. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(1), 1-21.Publisher pageSubscription
  9. Miguel, E. and Kremer, M. (2004). Worms: Identifying Impacts on Education and Health in the Presence of Treatment Externalities. Econometrica, 72(1), 159-217.Publisher pageSubscription
  10. Duflo, E. (2001). Schooling and Labor Market Consequences of School Construction in Indonesia: Evidence from an Unusual Policy Experiment. American Economic Review, 91(4), 795-813.Read it free
  11. Jensen, R. (2010). The (Perceived) Returns to Education and the Demand for Schooling. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 125(2), 515-548.Publisher pageSubscription
  12. Harris, J. R. and Todaro, M. P. (1970). Migration, Unemployment and Development: A Two-Sector Analysis. American Economic Review, 60(1), 126-142.Publisher pageSubscription
  13. Stiglitz, J. E. (1974). Incentives and Risk Sharing in Sharecropping. Review of Economic Studies, 41(2), 219-255.Publisher pageSubscription
  14. Topalova, P. (2010). Factor Immobility and Regional Impacts of Trade Liberalization: Evidence on Poverty from India. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2(4), 1-41.Read it free
  15. Rodrik, D. (2016). Premature Deindustrialization. Journal of Economic Growth, 21(1), 1-33.Read it free
  16. Drèze, J. and Sen, A. (2013). An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions. Princeton University Press.Publisher pageBook
  17. Bardhan, P. (2010). Awakening Giants, Feet of Clay: Assessing the Economic Rise of China and India. Princeton University Press.Publisher pageBook
  18. Subramanian, A. (2008). India's Turn: Understanding the Economic Transformation. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook

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