The World Isn't Flat

What motivates leaders to undertake potentially costly actions where there is uncertainty of the identity of winners and losers? The loser could in fact be the leader undertaking the reform itself. In a new working paper, London School of Economics' Jean-Paul Faguet and Mahvish Shami argue that it might be for unrelated reason. Leaders might be undertaking costly institutional reform for short-term political reasons without factoring in the long-term change in incentive structure. They call this concept “instrumental incoherence.” In this episode of the “The World Isn't Flat”, Shahrukh Wani talks to Professor Jean-Paul Faguet, on instrumental incoherence and how this intuitive concept can help explain the reform processes in many developing countries, and the potential policy implication of his new paper. About Jean-Paul Faguet: Professor Jean-Paul Faguet is the Professor of the Political Economy of Development at the Department of International Development of the London School of Economics, and Co-Programme Director of the MSc in Development Management. He is also Chair of the Decentralization Task Force at Columbia University's Initiative for Policy Dialogue. Professor Faguet's current work focuses on historical institutions, inequality and long-term, divergent development outcomes in Colombia and Latin America. More broadly, his fields include political economy, comparative politics, institutional economics, economic development and economic history. Before coming to the LSE he worked for the World Bank in La Paz, Bolivia on health, education, early childhood development and the environment. He trained in both politics and economics at Princeton, Harvard and the LSE, where his dissertation won the William Robson Memorial Prize. Follow him on Twitter at @jpfaguet About Shahrukh Wani: Shahrukh “Shah” Wani is an Economist at the International Growth Centre (IGC) at the Blavatnik School of Government. He is the co-host of "The World Isn't Flat." Follow him on Twitter at @ShahrukhWani

Post-independence Jamaica has been marked by the clientelistic relationship between political parties and organized crime. This week, Jovan walks the team through the history and political economy of this partnership. In the second half, we discuss broader implications for developing countries, as well as potential strategies to combat powerful organized criminal groups with ties to government. This is Part II of a series on state capacity in developing countries with a focus on public goods. In conversation, Jovan, David, and Shahrukh. The music in this podcast is "Clandestino" (1998) by Manu Chao.

Private school education is on the rise in many developing countries. While this phenomenon has been driven by middle and upper-class demand for quality education and state failure to provide it, there has been a parallel trend of low-cost private schools catering to families living on just a few dollars a day. In this episode we talk about three parts of the debate surrounding this transformation: 1) What's behind the rise of private education; 2) The role of the state in the face of increasing private provision of education, and 3) the long-run implication of private education. This is Part I of a series on state capacity in developing countries with a focus on public goods. In conversation, David, Shahrukh, Jovan, and Adrien. The music in this podcast is "Clandestino" (1998) by Manu Chao.

In our first episode of the season 2 we talk to Professor Naila Kabeer on Gender and Development. Professor Naila is Professor of Gender and Development at the London School of Economics since 2013 and has previously taught at SOAS and the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex. She is on the editorial board of a number of journals, including Feminist Economics, Gender and Development, Development and Change and Third World Quarterly, and is the incoming President of International Association for Feminist Economics. Professor Naila is interviewed by Jovan Johnson and Shahrukh Wani. The music in this podcast is "Clandestino" (1998) by Manu Chao.

Right-wing anti-immigrant parties are back in the developed world. This is changing how we think about international development. The boys discuss and just barely save themselves from getting into an argument about the future of the welfare state. (David: I don't like the term 'populist'. For one thing, in the United States populism doesn't have the automatic negative connotation it has in Europe. For another thing, any label used in the media to describe Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders is sure to lack meaning. Anyway. This episode is good.) The music in this podcast is "Clandestino" (1998) by Manu Chao.