Working Group in African Political Economy (WGAPE) Spring 2013
The Working Group in African Political Economy (WGAPE – pronounced “wah-gah-pay”) brings together faculty and advanced graduate students in Economics and Political Science who combine field research experience in Africa with training in political economy methods. Since 2002, the group has met semi-annually to discuss the work-in-progress of its core members and invited guests. It is co-led by Daniel Posner (Department of Political Science, MIT) and Edward Miguel (Department of Economics, UC Berkeley).
​WGAPE serves as a forum for presenting works-in-progress, and provides an unparalleled opportunity for useful feedback by colleagues in the field. After nine years as an exclusively west coast entity, WGAPE expanded its reach to include scholars from across the country. Thanks to funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), WGAPE held its first national meeting in May 2012, at the Blum Center on the University of California, Berkeley campus.
​The two-day meeting consisted of in-depth, round-table discussions of papers that were circulated and read in advance of the meeting. Presenters provided a brief summary or the paper and orienting comments prior to the floor opening for discussion.
Agenda
Friday, May 3rd
| 10:00am–10:30am | Coffee & Breakfast |
| 10:30am–10:50am | Welcome and Introductions, Discussion of WGAPE and Presentation Format
Edward Miguel, Dan Posner, and Lisa Chen |
| 10:50am–11:40am | Internal Borders: Ethnic Diversity and Market Segmentation in Malawi
Amanda Robinson, PhD Candidate, Political Science, Stanford University |
| 11:40am–12:30pm | The Political Economy of Ethnicity and Property Rights in Slums: Evidence from Kenya
Tavneet Suri, Associate Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management |
| 12:30pm–1:30pm | Lunch |
| 1:30pm–2:20pm | Geographic Variation in Ethnic Political Mobilization
Mauricio Velasquez, PhD Candidate, Political Science, UCLA |
| 2:20pm–3:10pm | How Political Violence Shapes Trust in the State: Survey Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa
Omar Garcia Ponce and Benjamin Pasquale, PhD Candidates, Politics, New York University |
| 3:10pm–3:40pm | Coffee Break |
| 3:40pm–4:30pm | Bandits or States: Evidence on the Origins of States from Armed Groups in Eastern Congo
Raul Sanchez de la Sierra, PhD Candidate, Economics, Columbia University |
| 4:30pm–4:45pm | Transparency in Social Science Research
Edward Miguel |
| 4:45pm–5:15pm | Executive Committee Meeting (Closed) |
Saturday, May 4th
| 9:00am–9:30am | Coffee & Breakfast |
| 9:30am–10:20am | The Economic and Social Returns to Cash Transfers: Evidence from a Ugandan Aid Program
Christopher Blattman, Assistant Professor, International and Public Affairs / Political Science, Columbia University |
| 10:20am–11:10am | The Long-Term Effects of the Printing Press in Sub-Saharan Africa
Julia Cagé, PhD Candidate, Economics, Harvard University |
| 11:10am–11:30am | Coffee Break |
| 11:30am–12:20pm | Renewalist Christianity, Political Competition and the Political Saliency of LGBTs in sub-Saharan Africa
Guy Grossman, Assistant Professor, Political Science, University of Pennsylvania |
| 12:20pm–12:30pm | Concluding Remarks |
Dan Posner (UC Los Angeles)
