Biographical Statement: David E. Sahn is an International Professor of Economics in the Division of Nutritional Sciences and the Department of Economics. He has a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Masters of Public Health from the University of Michigan. His main academic interest is analyzing the determinants of, and solutions to poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition, and disease in developing countries. In addition to teaching and mentoring of graduate students, he devotes considerable efforts to training and capacity building of research institutions in Africa and working with government officials and international organizations to integrate research findings into policy. Before coming to Cornell in 1988, Professor Sahn was an Economist at the World Bank, and prior to that, a Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute. He has been a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund, a visiting researcher at both the Département et Laboratoire dEconomie Théorique et Appliquée, École Normale Superieure (DELTA) and Laboratoire dÉconomie Appliquée de Paris, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in Paris, and a visiting professor at Kenyatta University in Nairobi. He has also worked extensively with numerous international organizations, such as OECD and several UN agencies such as UNICEF, the UN Development Program, the Food and Agricultural Organization, and the World Health Organization in Asia, Africa and transition economies in Eastern Europe.
Dr. Sahn has a long list, numbering over 110, of peer-reviewed books, chapters, and journal articles dealing with issues of poverty, inequality, education, health, and related economic and social policy. This body of literature includes both research focused on the impact of economic policy on household welfare, such as his widely cited books on the impact of economic reforms in Africa, Structural Adjustment Reconsidered (Cambridge University Press) and Economic Reform and the Poor in Africa (Oxford University Press), as well as numerous publications that focus on the production of human capital outcomes, particularly in the areas of health, nutrition and education. This includes recent publications such as, "Risk, Knowledge and Health in Africa ," forthcoming in African Development Review; "Explaining Stunting in Nineteenth Century France," forthcoming in Economic History Review; "Determinants of HIV Knowledge and Behavior in Madagascar: An Analysis Using DHS Data ," forthcoming in African Development Review; "Measuring Intra-Household Inequality: Explorations Using the Body Mass Index ," forthcoming in Health Economics; "Weights on the Rise: Where and for Whom?" forthcoming in the Journal of Economic Inequality; "Cognitive Skills among Children in Senegal: Disentangling the Roles of Schooling and Family Background," forthcoming in the Economics of Education Review ; "Living Standards in Africa" to be published in 2009 as a chapter in the volume, Debates in the Measurement of Global Inequality by Oxford University Press; "Are Africans Practicing Safer Sex: Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys for Eight Countries," in Economic Development and Cultural Change (2008) ; "Growth and Poverty Reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa: Macroeconomic Adjustment and Beyond," published in 2008 as a chapter in the volume, Poverty and Globalization (Edward Elgar Publishing); "The Joint Demand for Health Care, Leisure, and Commodities: Implications for Health Care Finance and Access in Vietnam," in Journal of Development Studies (2007); "Estimating the Consequences of Unintended Fertility for Child Health and Education in Romania: An Analysis Using Twins Data.
Current Professional Activities:
Cornell Graduate Field Memberships: Economics
Applied Economics and Management; Policy Analysis and Management
International Development and Nutrition
Faculty Fellow, Institute for Social Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 2008-2011
Faculty Fellow, Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 2009-2013
Courses Taught: Nutritional Sciences 457: Health, Poverty and Inequality: A Global Perspective Fall 2009 The course focuses on issues of global health inequality. We explore the nature and extent of global inequalities in health, and the possible policy responses to improving health and well-being, and reducing observed disparities. We examine global health inequalities at various levels, including across countries, at the national level, and even within the household. Likewise, the class examines the implications of the health crisis that afflicts the poorest countries, especially in Africa. Special attention is given to problems such as malnutrition and HIV/AIDS. The ethics of dealing with problems of global health inequality, as well as some policy options are also discussed. The latter issue of how to most cost-effectively address global health problems is the subject of class projects.
Nutritional Sciences 685 / Economics 771: Empirical Methods for the Analysis of Household Survey Data: Applications to Health, Education, and Poverty Spring 2007 Professor David E. Sahn Course description: This is an advanced course that explores recent empirical research that relies on the analysis of household survey data. It focuses on issues of multidimensional poverty, health, nutrition, and education. The course covers empirical methods as they apply to a series of measurement and modeling issues, as well as the evaluation of interventions and public policy. While we briefly review underlying theory and econometric techniques, the course attempts to bridge the gap between theory and practice, addressing issues such as model identification, functional form, estimation techniques to control for endogeneity and heterogeneity, and so forth. In addition, we review various empirical and measurement issues such as the multidimensional nature of poverty and benefit incidence. We also focus on the literature in the areas of anthropometry, HIV/AIDS, and cognitive outcomes, examining both the non-experimental and program evaluation literature.
Econ 694/AEM 694/NS 699: Poverty and Well-Being in Africa Fall 2006 and Spring 2007 The course explores the economic and social factors that have impeded growth and poverty reduction in Africa. We take a "bottom-up" perspective, which starts from the capabilities of individuals, households, and communities ? their productivities, their vulnerabilities, their institutions, and their environment ? and consider in detail how economic and social development can and do play out at the ground level. Our aim is to understand further the economic, social, institutional, and natural constraints that keep Africas poor from prospering in the context of growth-oriented reforms. While there are many structural constraints that hold the poor back, we focus on four: education; health and nutrition; risk, vulnerability and poverty dynamics; and empowerment and institutions.
1984 Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts
1976 Master of Public Health, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan
1975 Bachelor of General Studies, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan
Current Research Activities:
The economics of health, nutrition, and education in developing countries; poverty and inequality; the evaluation of government policy and programs.
Administrative Responsibilities: Administrative responsibilities include directing a large research effort examining the impact of economic reform on poverty in 10 African countries; and operating a collaborative research and training program for African scholars, funded by the African Economic Research Consortium, to examine the nature and determinants of poverty and approaches to raise household incomes. In addition, as Director of the Cornell Food and Nutrition Policy Program, I manage a large number of externally funded research, training and technical assistance projects.
Selected Publications:
"Early Academic Performance, Grade Repetition, and School Attainment in Senegal: A Panel Data Analysis." World Bank Economic Review Forthcoming (co-author: Peter J. Glick).
"Health Challenges in Africa," in The Oxford Companion to the Economies of Africa, edited by Ernest Aryeetey, Shanta Devarajan, Ravi Kanbur, and Louis Kasekende, Oxford University Press, forthcoming, 2009.
"Impact of Health on Economic Outcomes," in The Oxford Companion to the Economies of Africa, edited by Ernest Aryeetey, Shanta Devarajan, Ravi Kanbur, and Louis Kasekende, Oxford University Press, forthcoming, 2009.
