Melissa Dell, Clark Medalist 2020
American Economic Association Honors and Awards Committee
- April 2020
A central question in history, political economy and
economic development is the role that institutions play in the development of
different societies. Through her pioneering careful and creative data
collection and empirical work, Melissa Dell has advanced our understanding of
the role state and other institutions play in the daily lives of and economic
outcomes of ordinary people. In doing so she has also given a new energy and
direction to the entire field of political economy and development.
Historians (e.g., Engerman and Sokolov) have long
argued for the persistence of institutions and the “long shadow” of historical
events on developing countries. For example, cross-national studies have noted
that Latin America and North America organized labor differently during
colonial periods and used cross-country historical data to support the idea
that these differences have had long-run impacts. More generally, Acemoglu,
Johnson, and Robinson compare the experience of countries with different
institutions set in place during colonial time for largely accidental reasons,
showing that these early differences continue to matter today.
In her work, Dell goes beyond the cross-country
evidence, using historical accidents or peculiarities to shed light on
persistent effects of institutional differences, including different in the
organization of the state. She exploits historical settings in which she is able
to very convincingly establish the persistent impacts of specific institutions
as well as explore specific channels through which these impacts occur.
Past
Winners (2010-2019):
