The Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame is delighted to host the 9th annual Development Day conference on Saturday December 4, 2021. 

After a two-year hiatus, this small conference returns to host faculty and graduate students from seven schools across the Midwest in a showcase of the latest research in development economics. The conference seeks to develop community among a growing network of development economists in the Midwest, and to give graduate students a chance for face-to-face interaction with each other and with faculty across a range of schools.

Conference organizers:
•  Taryn Dinkelman, University of Notre Dame
•  Lakshmi Iyer, University of Notre Dame
•  Joe Kaboski, University of Notre Dame

Participating Universities:
•  Michigan State University
•  Northwestern University
•  University of Illinois-Chicago
•  University of Chicago
•  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
•  University of Michigan
•  University of Notre Dame

Conference location:
Hesburgh Center for International Studies
100 Hesburgh Ctr
Notre Dame, IN 46556
*near the intersection of Notre Dame Ave and Holy Cross Drive, on the University of Notre Dame campus

All panels will take place in the Hesburgh Center for International Studies, University of Notre Dame.
All times listed are in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

8.30-9.20am | Continental breakfast

9.25am | Welcome remarks

Session A: Moderated by Taryn Dinkelman

9.30am-10.25am | University of Notre Dame
•  Vivek Moorthy (grad student) - Agricultural Technological Change, Female Earnings, and Fertility: Evidence from Brazil
•  John Firth (faculty) - Do Anti-Bribery Laws Affect International Trade and Investments?

10.25-10.55am | University of Michigan
•  Jon Denton-Schneider (grad student) - Colonial Institutions, Marriage Markets, and HIV: Evidence from Mozambique

10.55-11.30am | Coffee break

Session B: Moderated by Nilesh Fernando

11.30-12.25pm | Michigan State University
•  Abubakr Ayesh (grad student) - Burned Agricultural Biomass, Air Pollution and Crime
•  Christian Ahlin (faculty) - Group Lending with Covariate Risk

12.25-1.15pm | Lunch

Session C: Moderated by Alejandro Estefan

1.15-2.15pm | UI U-C
•  Vini Okada da Silva (grad student) - The Persistent Effect of Jesuit Missions in the Brazilian Amazon
•  Monica Gillis (grad student, Lightning Round)
•  Catalina Herrera (faculty) - Women’s Autonomy, Social Networks and Access to Family Planning: Experimental Evidence from India

2.20-3.45pm | University of Chicago
•  Jess Rudder (post-doc) - The Effect of Drought on Market Entry, Exit, and Firm Performance in Rural Kenya
•  Maria Angelica Bautista (faculty) - Reacting to Repression: Children's Agency and the Intergenerational Transmission of Political Preferences
•  Soeren Henn (post-doc)

3.45-4.20pm | Coffee break

Session D: Moderated by Lakshmi Iyer

4.20-5.10pm | Northwestern University
•  Joris Mueller (grad student) - China's Foreign Aid: Political Determinants and Economic Effects
•  Sean Higgins (faculty) - Why Are Firms Slow to Adopt Profitable Business Practices? 

5.15-6:45pm | Dinner 
 

Presenters and registered participants my access the password-protected page for downloading papers by clicking below and then entering the password provided upon registering.

Download papers

For general conference participants, a room block has been established at the Embassy Suites, within walking distance of the University of Notre Dame and the conference venue, the Hesburgh Center for International Studies. General conference participants should make their own reservations using this link, as soon as possible. 

Embassy Suites by Hilton
South Bend at Notre Dame
1140 East Angela Boulevard, South Bend, IN 46617
embassysuitesnotredame.com 

Book Your Room

There are no fees for weekend parking in the visitor lots on campus.  Please park in the visitor lot closest to the Hesburgh Center. This is located on the east side of the Walsh Family Hall of Architecture – just south of the stadium lots, on the south side of Holy Cross Drive between Eddy Street and Joyce Street.

This campus map shows both the Hesburgh Center for International Studies (in orange – not the Hesburgh Library!)  and the visitor lot adjacent to Walsh Hall (in gray).