Skarbek, D. & Marcum A. Why didn't slaves revolt more often during the middle passage.

Week 7

Bad apples.
Leeson, P. T. An-aaargh-chy.
Skarbek, D. Governance and prison gangs.
Dimico et al. Origins of the Sicilian mafia.

Week 8

Midterm.

Week 

Institutions.
Acemoglu, D. et al. Reversal of fortunes.
Galeser E. D. & Shleifer A. Legal origins.
 Baumol, W. Entrepreneurship: Productive, unproductive, destructive.

Week 10

Markets.
DeLong, B. & Shleifer, A. Princes and merchants.
Greif, A. Contract enforceability and economic institutions.
Milgrom et al. The role of institutions in the revival of trade.

Week 11

The rise of the modern state.
Dincecco, M. The rise of effective states in Europe.
Johnson,  N. & Koyama, M. Tax farming and the origins of state capacity in England and 
Batchelder, R. & Freudenberger,H. On the rational origins of the modern centralized state.

Week

The paradox of the state
North, D. & Weingast, B. Constitutions and commitment.
Weingast, B. The economic role of political institutions.
Salter, A. W. Rights to the realm.

12Week 13

Great divergence.
Ma, D. Rock, scissors, paper.
Kuran, T. The islamic commercial crisis.
Acemoglu, D. & Robinson, J. A. Why is Africa poor?

Week 14

Politics.
Meltzer, A. H. & Richard, S. F. Why government grows (and grows) under democracy?
Friedman, D. D. The size and shape of nations.

Week 15

Society.

Other important dates

Grading

The final grade will be the weighted average of class participation (20%), quizzes (10%), a midterm (30%), and a final examination (40%). While not required, attendance is strongly recommended. The homework sets must be delivered to me in printed copy at the beginning of class (neither electronic drafts nor later work will be considered under any circumstances).

The grading scale is as follows:

A+: 97-100%; A: 92-96%; A-: 88-91%; B+: 84-87%; B: 80-83%; B-: 76-79%; C: 70-75%; F:<70%.

Academic integrity

George Mason University’s Honor Code requires all community members to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity. Cheating, plagiarism, lying, and stealing are all prohibited. Honor Code violations will be reported to the Honor Committee. Plagiarism is not accepted (statements from Macon web site: http://mason.gmu.edu/montecin/plagiarism/htm#plagiarism). The use of electronic devices is prohibited during an exam or a quiz; failure to comply with this will result in your failure of the assignment and potentially the failure of the class. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the GMU Honor Code, which is stated in the George Mason University Undergraduate Catalog.