Institutions and Development

Why do some countries grow rich while others stagnate even with similar resources and policies? This course tackles that puzzle through New Institutional Economics, arguing that the rules of the game — budgetary procedures, central bank independence, fiscal decentralization, bank regulation — shape macroeconomic outcomes in ways neoclassical models miss. You'll work through Neyaptı's textbook and Moodle articles, sit two midterms, and give a seminar-style presentation on an institutional design problem. It's a senior elective that pays off your intermediate macro and money-and-banking background by recasting familiar policy debates as questions about institutional design rather than just optimal parameters.