Data, Economics, and Design of Policy: International Development
Explore the economic and political dimensions of global poverty with a data-driven and evidence-based approach. Use your credential to advance your career or pursue accelerated graduate studies at MIT or another pathway university.
Program Information
About this Program
MIT’s Department of Economics and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) designed the MicroMasters® program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP) to equip learners with both practical skills and theoretical knowledge to address pressing global challenges. Taught by esteemed Economics faculty at MIT, including the program’s faculty directors Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, Sara Fisher Ellison, and Benjamin Olken, the program offers graduate-level courses that combine the modern tools of economics and policy design with a strong foundation in economic and mathematical principles. Completing the program credential will make you eligible to apply for MIT’s DEDP master’s program or pursue an accelerated degree at a participating pathway school.
The core curriculum covers foundational topics such as economics, probability and statistics, data analysis, and designing and running randomized evaluations to assess the effectiveness of social programs. Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee, winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and pioneers in development economics, contribute their expertise on methodologies for poverty alleviation.
The elective courses explore a range of key issues facing society today in two distinct tracks: International Development and Public Policy.
The International Development Track electives explore development issues that are most prevalent in low- and middle-income countries experiencing massive and persistent poverty, including determinants of decisions made by low-income households, the value and impact of microfinance, and the relationship between economic development and political institutions.
To complete your DEDP program credential in the International Development Track, you must complete at least one advanced elective.
Learn more about the Public Policy Track or read about the track requirements in our FAQ articles.
Courses
To complete this program, you must take 3 required courses and 2 elective courses.
Core Courses
International Development Electives: Complete 2 out of 3
Prerequisites
Prerequisites vary by course, but nothing is formal - anyone can enroll!
Meet your instructors
Esther Duflo
Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics in the Department of Economics
Esther Duflo is the winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. She is also the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics in the Department of Economics at MIT. She was educated at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, in Paris, and at MIT. She has received numerous honors and prizes including a John Bates Clark Medal for the best American economist under 40 in 2010, a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship in 2009. She was recognized as one of the best eight young economists by The Economist magazine, one of the 100 most influential thinkers by Foreign Policy since the list exists, and one of the “Forty under 40” most influential business leaders under forty by Fortune magazine in 2010.
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