Conference Program

(with clickable links to locations and papers)

Please click here for the conference program in PDF format.

8:00 - 8:30: Welcome, Registration, and Continental Breakfast, IRPS Building 3 Foyer

8:30 - 9:30: Session 1

Panel A (Gardner) Latin America’s Development Challenges

René Zenteno (UCSD), chair

• ‘The Latin American Outlook, 2008’ Jeff Dayton-Johnson, OECD
• ‘Financial Services for the Poor’,  Ernesto Schagrodsky, Universidad de Torcuato di Tella
• ‘Retailers: The New Banks in Mexico’, Claudia Ruiz, UCLA

Sarah Baird (UCSD), chair

• ‘Structural Change and the Sustainability of Chinese Economic Growth’, Kang Hua Cao, UCSB
• ‘The Determinants of Firm Strategies for Dealing with their Problems in Transition Economies and their Effects on Firm Performance’  Grigor Sukiassyan, CSU Fullerton
• ‘Should Market Liberalization Precede Democracy? Causal Relations between Political Preference and Development’,  Pauline Grosjean, UC Berkeley

Berk Özler (UCSD), chair

• ‘Migrant Remittances as a Coping Strategy under Armed Conflict’, Olga Shemyakina,  Georgia Institute of Technology
• ‘Migration, Risk, and the Intra-Household Allocation of Labor in El Salvador’, Timothy Halliday, University of Hawaii
• ‘Remittances, Schooling, and Child Labor’, Gabriel González-König, Colegio de la Frontera Norte

9:40 - 10:40: Session 2

Panel A (Gardner) Presentation of the Conclusions of the 2008 World Development Report

Alix Peterson-Zwane (Google.org), chair

• Alain de Janvry and Elisabeth Sadoulet (UC Berkeley), co-authors of the report. 

Panel B (Bldg. 3, Room 3201)  Credit Market Innovations

Steve Boucher (UC Davis), chair

• ‘Adverse Selection, Moral Hazard, and Credit Information Systems’, Bruce Wydick, USF
• ‘Linking Financial Inclusion with Social Security Schemes’, Gurinder Khurana, ICICI Bank
• 'Using Cross-Sectional Data to Measure Microfinance Effects on Housing over Time’, Melanie Steger, USF

Panel C (Bldg. 3, Room 3202) Inequality & Poverty

Frederico Finan (UCLA), chair

• ‘Local Inequality and Project Choice: Theory and Evidence from Ecuador’, Berk Özler, World Bank
• ‘Natural Disasters: Sudden Impact, Permanent Consequences?’ Kathleen Hubner, USF
• ‘The Effects of Poverty on Crime in South Africa’, D. Mark Anderson, U of Washington

10:40 - 11:00: Coffee Break, IRPS Building 3 Foyer

11:00 - 12:30: Session 3

Panel A (Gardner) Mechanisms to Reduce Rural Poverty

Jennifer Alix-Garcia (USF), chair

• ‘Does Digital Divide or Provide? The Impact of Cell Phones on Grain Markets in Niger’, Jenny Aker, UC Berkeley
• ‘Do Cooperatives Benefit Small Guatemalan Coffee Farmers? The Competitive Role of Guatemalan Coffee Cooperatives on Farm-Gate Coffee Prices’, Seth Morgan, USF
• ‘Poverty and Spatial Dimensions of Non-Timber Forest Extraction’, Alejandro Lopez-Feldman, Universidad de Guanajuato

Panel B (Bldg. 3, Room 3201) Macroeconomics

Edward Miguel (UC Berkeley), chair

• ‘The Rate of Time Preference and the World Distribution of Income’, Javier Birchenall, UCSB
•  ‘Macroeconomic Variables and the Agricultural Sector:  Ecuador after Dollarization’, Henry An, UC Davis
•  ‘Are Capital Shares Higher in Poor Countries?  Evidence from Industrial Surveys’, Francisco Rodriguez, Wesleyan University
• ‘Ready for Capital Account Convertability?’, Purba Mukerji, USF

Panel C (Bldg. 3, Room 3202) Theoretical Advances

Gordon Hanson (UCSD) chair

• ‘Is Product Boycott a Good Idea for Controlling Child Labor? A Theoretical Investigation’, Homa  Zarghamee, Santa Clara University
• ‘Is Regulation Better Than Liberalization? Challenge Revisited’, Mehdi Majbouri, USC
• ‘A General Equilibrium Effect of Land Titling Reform’, Weerachart Kilenthong, UCSB 

12:30 - 1:50: Lunch and Panel:  Weaver Conference Room, Institute of the Americas (please scroll down for map)

Are Migration and Remittances Vehicles for or Obstacles to Development in LDCs?

Gordon Hanson, UCSD

Giovanni Peri, UC Davis

Ed Taylor, UC Davis

René Zenteno, UCSD

2:00 - 3:30: Session 4

Panel A (Gardner) Political Economy

Anoshua Chaudhuri, SFSU, chair

• ‘Powerful Women: Does Exposure Reduce Bias?’, Lori Beaman, UC Berkeley
• ‘Motivating Politicians: The Impact of Salary Increases on Performance and Selection’, Fred Finan, UCLA
• ‘The Price of Political Opposition:  Evidence from Venezuela’s Maisanta’, Edward Miguel, UC Berkeley
• ‘Detecting Corruption in Smog Check Centers:  An Empirical Approach’, Paulina Oliva, UC Berkeley 

Panel B (Bldg. 3, Room 3201) Gender & Human Capital

 Elisabeth Sadoulet (UC Berkeley), chair

• 'Changing Households’ Investments and Aspirations through Social Interactions: Evidence from a Randomized Transfer Program in a Low-Income Country’, Karen Macours, Johns Hopkins
• ‘Determinants of a Successful African Cash Transfer Program: Evidence from Malawi’, Sarah Baird, UCSD
• ‘Literacy, Skills and Welfare: Effects of Participation in Adult Literacy Programs’ Claus Pörtner, University of Washington
• ‘Why (and How) Does Mother’s Education Matter?’, Tahir Andrabi, Pomona College 

Panel C (Bldg. 3, Room 3202) Shocks and Consumption Smoothing

Krislert Samphantharak (UCSD), chair

•  ‘What to Smooth? Seeing the Shift from Asset to Consumption Smoothing in Wealth Space’, Travis Lybbert, UC Davis
•  ‘The Effects of Oil Shocks on Short and Long Term Poverty in Iran’, Mehdi Majbouri, USC
• ‘Vulnerability to Climate Change in South Africa’s Limpopo River Basin’, Sharon Shewmake, UC Davis

3:30 - 3:45: Coffee Break IRPS Building 3 Foyer

3:45 - 5:15: Session 5

Panel A (Gardner) Microinsurance

Bruce Wydick (USF), chair

• ‘Underwriting Area-Based Yield Insurance to Crowd In Credit Supply and Demand’, Steve Boucher, UC Davis
• ‘Health and Death Risk and Income Decisions: Evidence from Microfinance’, Grant Jacobsen, UCSB
• ‘Innovating at the BoP: Delivering Microinsurance in Kalahandi, and Beyond’, Sarthak Gaurav, IFMR
• ‘Impacts of Contingent Repayment in MFIs on Poverty: Evidence of Heterogeneous Program Impacts across Gender’, Masahiro Shoji, University of Tokyo

Alain de Janvry (UC Berkeley), chair

• ‘Trickle Down: Learning about In-Home Water Chlorination in Kenya’, Clair Null, UC Berkeley
• ‘Exploring the Changes in Out-of Pocket Payments on Health Care in Vietnam:  1992-2002’, Anoshua Chaudhuri, SFSU
• ‘Marital Shopping and Epidemic AIDS’, Jeremy Magruder, UC Berkeley

Panel C (Bldg. 3, Room 3202) Community-based Organizations

Tahir Andrabi (Pomona), chair

• ‘When does Community Conservatism Constrain Village Organizations?’,  Elisabeth Sadoulet, UC Berkeley
• ‘Community-Based Wildlife Conservation in Botswana:  Creating Direct Links between Wildlife  Conservation and Household Benefits’, Elizabeth Pienaar, UC Davis
• ‘Identity, Civic Participation, and the Distribution of Government Programs in Mexico’, Jennifer Alix-Garcia, USF
• ‘Welfare Effects of Community Forest Management: Evidence from the Rural Hills of Nepal’,  Christine Cooper, USC

5:15 - 5:45: Conference debriefing and 2009 planning meeting by organizers (Bldg. 3, Room 3202)

6:00:  Dinner for those staying in town, Rock Bottom Brewery ($10)