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Module 4 Resources: Poverty, Inequality, and Development

Interactive Simulations (McCreary)

These browser-based simulations let you explore Module 4 concepts hands-on. All simulations are from Dan McCreary's Introduction to Economics (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Simulation What It Teaches Try It
GDP Calculator Compute GDP using the expenditure approach and see what economic activity gets measured — and what falls outside Open
GDP Components Breakdown Visualize how consumption, investment, government spending, and net exports divide a country's economic output Open
Efficiency-Equity Spectrum Explore the trade-off between maximizing total economic output and distributing it fairly across the population Open
Human Capital ROI Calculator Estimate the return on investment from additional years of education and see how education returns vary Open

Economist Stories (McCreary)

Biographical narratives of economists whose work connects to this module's themes.

Economist Key Insight Read It
Amartya Sen — Development as Freedom The capability approach to welfare, famine as entitlement failure, and why development means expanding freedoms Open
Muhammad Yunus — Banking for the Poor Microcredit and the Grameen Bank — lending to those the formal banking system ignores Open
Esther Duflo — Testing What Works Randomized controlled trials in development economics and the founding of J-PAL Open
W.E.B. Du Bois — The Economics of Race Pioneered the empirical study of racial economic inequality and structural deprivation in America Open
Acemoglu & Robinson — Why Nations Fail Institutions — not geography or culture — are the fundamental cause of long-run development and persistent inequality Open
Lisa Cook — Innovation and Exclusion Documented how violence and discrimination suppressed African American innovation, reducing growth for all Open

Textbook Readings

Book Relevant Chapters / Sections
Banerjee, A. V. & Duflo, E. (2011). Poor Economics Ch. 1: Think Again, Again; Ch. 2: A Billion Hungry People?; Ch. 3: Low-Hanging Fruit for Better Health; Ch. 7: Lending to the Poor
Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom Ch. 1: The Perspective of Freedom; Ch. 4: Poverty as Capability Deprivation
Chang, H.-J. (2014). Economics: The User's Guide Ch. 15: Poverty and Inequality
Wheelan, C. Naked Economics Ch. 12: Development Economics
Deaton, A. (2013). The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality Ch. 1-2: Wellbeing and the Great Escape
Dreze, J. & Sen, A. (2013). An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions Ch. 1: A New India?; Ch. 3: India in Comparative Perspective; Ch. 5: Poverty and Social Programs

Videos

  1. Esther Duflo's Nobel Prize Lecture — nobelprize.org, ~35 min. Duflo explains the experimental approach to poverty alleviation in her own words.
  2. Abhijit Banerjee's Nobel Prize Lecture — nobelprize.org, ~35 min. Banerjee on what RCTs have taught us about the economic lives of the poor.
  3. "How to Fight Poverty" — Esther Duflo, TED Talk — ted.com, ~17 min. An accessible introduction to the RCT approach with examples from India and Africa.
  4. "The India Story — NITI Aayog on Multidimensional Poverty" — YouTube, ~20 min. India's progress on the MPI, with state-level breakdowns.
  5. "Slumdog Millionaire — Economics in Film" — YouTube, ~12 min. Analysis of economic themes in the film, including the informal economy and social mobility.

Indian Context

  • NREGA & Poverty — India's largest social safety net program: employment guarantee, wage floors, and rural poverty reduction
  • India's Informal Economy — how 86% of India's workforce operates outside formal regulation, taxation, and social protection

Academic References

These papers are referenced in the module content. They are provided here for students who want to go deeper.

Reference Topic
Banerjee, A., Duflo, E., Glennerster, R., & Kinnan, C. (2015). "The Miracle of Microfinance?" AEJ: Applied Economics, 7(1), 22-53. DOI Hyderabad microfinance RCT
Banerjee, A. V., Cole, S., Duflo, E., & Linden, L. (2007). "Remedying Education." QJE, 122(3), 1235-1264. DOI Pratham reading program RCTs
Miguel, E. & Kremer, M. (2004). "Worms: Identifying Impacts on Education and Health." Econometrica, 72(1), 159-217. DOI Deworming and school attendance
Alkire, S. & Foster, J. (2011). "Counting and Multidimensional Poverty Measurement." Journal of Public Economics, 95(7-8), 476-487. DOI MPI methodology
Chancel, L. & Piketty, T. (2019). "Indian Income Inequality, 1922-2015." Review of Income and Wealth, 65(S1), S33-S62. DOI Income inequality using tax data

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