Published on Let's Talk Development

Human behavior, social norms, law and other big questions

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‘Development Economics: The Big Questions’ was the topic of a lecture I delivered April 7 at Georgetown University. During my talk, I touched on micro-theoretic issues related to Mind, Society, and Behavior (the topic of the WDR 2015) and as well as on governance and the law (the topic of the WDR 2017, which is in its very early stages).  From assumptions about rational actors, to the role of social norms, as well as lessons from game theory, I attempted to shed a rather different light on human foibles and the challenges of development than is typically expected from the World Bank. 

My lecture was the fourth in a series in which President Kim delivered the first and third lecture and I delivered the second and now this final lecture. This is part of a Global Futures Initiative with Georgetown aimed at generating a sustained dialogue around the practical and ethical dimensions of global development. 

LTD readers can watch the webcast of my talk below.
 

Countries Should Consider Human Nature When Striving for Growth
  

Authors

Kaushik Basu

Former Chief Economist & Senior Vice President of the World Bank

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