The Political Economy of International Aid

Research Article Workshop

1 Details

Instructor: Bogdan G. Popescu
Research Scholars: Mariam Sajid, Youssef Eldershabi

2 Program Duration

12 Weeks (9 mentor meetings)
Nine one-on-one, remote weekly sessions for 1 hour

3 Course Description

This course is an intensive, hands-on introduction to writing a research article in the social sciences, with a focus on political science, sociology, or economics. By the end of the course, students will have developed and refined a complete research paper through a series of iterative assignments and structured feedback. The course integrates methodological training, substantive readings, and practical writing skills. Course content is divided into weekly units covering both technical skills and theoretical content. This course is demanding, but it’s designed to give you the tools to write your first publishable article. I am here to guide you every step of the way.

Students will engage deeply with cutting-edge research on international aid, governance, and development, particularly in the African context and China’s role as a donor. Most readings involve empirical papers that employ causal inference strategies, such as Difference-in-Differences (DiD) and Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD), exposing students to high-impact quantitative methods.

Assessment will be based on the progressive development of a research project, including submission of a research question, proposal, outline, draft, and final paper, as well as in-class presentations. No prior experience with coding or statistics is required, but students should be ready to engage with challenging material in a supportive, step-by-step environment.

4 Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course the students will be able to:

  • Develop a research question and transform it into a publishable paper.
  • Master essential academic tools including reference managers (e.g., JabRef), markdown-based word processing, and professional presentation software.
  • Write each section of a paper: abstract, introduction, argument, methods, literature review, findings, discussion, and conclusion.
  • Conduct basic quantitative analysis in R, including data merging, regression modeling, and visualization.
  • Understand and apply core methods in social science research, including qualitative difference-in-differences (DiD), and regression discontinuity design (RDD).
  • Create a personal academic website using GitHub Pages to showcase their work.

5 Presentations

Each student will deliver a 15-minute presentation on a topic assigned in advance. Presentations should include a clear introduction, main points, and conclusion. Use visual aids (e.g., slides) effectively, ensuring text is legible and visuals are relevant. Practice beforehand to stay within the time limit and maintain a confident, professional tone. Be prepared to answer 2-3 questions from peers or the instructor during and after the presentation. Remember to cite your sources and avoid reading verbatim from slides or notes.

In addition to summarizing the key arguments or findings, your presentation should include critical analysis of the material. Highlight what the author does not address, the limitations of their research, or potential problems in their analysis or methodology. Think about how the research could be improved, expanded, or connected to broader themes discussed in class, and incorporate these insights into your presentation.

Below is an example of a strong presentation:

6 Example Paper

The research paper should provide an extensive background on the topic and a clear contribution to the literature. The analysis should include some quantitative analysis to test hypotheses. The statistical part of the research project involves using data (collect and prepare the data to run quantitative analyses and produce graphs) and specialized software (R). You can download the template for the paper at this link. You are welcome to tweak the template in any way you like.

7 Example Paper Presentation

You can download the template for the paper presentation at this link. This should provide a good starting point for the type of information that needs to be included in the presentation. You are welcome to tweak the template in any way you like.

Week 1

Introduction - 06-05-2025

Week 2

Essential Tools for Writing a Paper Slides - 06-11-2025

Homework: Go over:

Deadline: Syllabus - 2025-06-13

Week 3

Aid And Governance 1 - 06-18-2025

  • Qian, Nancy. 2015. “Making Progress on Foreign Aid.” Annual Review of Economics. Vol. 7. pp. 277-308. Presentation by Sahar

  • Burnside, Craig and Dollar, David. 2000. Aid, Policies, and Growth. The American Economic Review, Vol. 90(4): 847-868 Presentation by Youssef

Homework: Go over:

Deadline: Research Question - 2025-06-20

Week 4

Aid And Governance 2 - 06-26-2025

  • Knack, Stephen, 2003. Does Foreign Aid Promote Democracy? International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 48(1): 251-266. Presentation by Sahar

  • Dreher, Axel et al. 2018. “African leaders and the Geography of China’s Foreign Assistance”. Journal of Development Economics. Vol. 140: pp. 44-71. Presentation by Youssef

Homework: Go over:

Deadline: Research Proposal - 2025-06-27

Week 5

Foreign Aid and Political Institutions - 07-02-2025

  • Isaksson, Ann-Sofie, and Andreas Kotsadam. 2018. “Chinese Aid and Local Corruption.” Journal of Public Economics. Presentation by Youssef

  • Jablonski, Ryan. 2014. “How Aid Target Votes”. World Politics. Vol. 66 (2): 293-330. Presentation by Sahar

Homework: Go over:

Deadline: Research Paper Outline - 2025-07-04

Week 6

Aid and Infrastructure - 07-09-2025

  • Bluhm, Richard et al. “Connective Financing: Chinese Infrastructure Projects and the Diffusion of Economic Activity in Developing Countries.” Journal of Development Economics. Presentation by Youssef

  • Hernandez, Diego. “Are “New” Donors Challenging World Bank Conditionality?“. World Development. Vol. 96: pp. 529-549. Presentation by Sahar

Homework: Write:

Week 7

Aid and Civil Conflict - 07-16-2025

  • Crost, Benjamin et al. 2014. “Aid under Fire: Development Projects and Civil Conflict.” American Economic Review. Presentation by Youssef

  • Nunn, Nathan and Qian, Nancy. 2014. “US Food Aid and Civil Conflict.” American Economic Review. Presentation by Sahar

Homework: Write:

Deadline: Milestone - 07-18-2025

Week 8

Paper Development - 07-24-2025

Homework: Write:

  • Work on Research Design, Data, Research Methodology
  • Finish First Draft

Week 9

Paper Feedback - 07-30-2025

Homework: Write:

  • Revise Paper: Methods

Deadline: Final Paper - 08-01-2025

Week 10

Revise Paper - 08-06-2025

Homework: Write:

  • Revise Paper: Discussion + Lit Review

Week 11

Revise Paper - 08-13-2025

Homework: Write:

  • Revise Paper: Intro + Conclusion

Week 12

Revise Paper - 08-20-2025

Homework: Write:

  • Revise Paper: Final Polish + Citations

Deadline: Revised Final Paper - 08-22-2025