Northwestern Events Calendar

Sep
16
2020

Economics Development Lunch

When: Wednesday, September 16, 2020
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CT

Where: Online

Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Post Docs/Docs - Graduate Students

Contact: Lola Ittner   (847) 491-5213

Group: Department of Economics: Development Economics Lunch Seminar

Category: Academic

Description:

Nancy Qian (Northwestern University):  The Soviet Great Famine, 1932–33 (joint with A. Markevich and N. Naumenko)

Abstract: This paper investigates the causes of the Soviet Great Famine, 1932–33, and documents several new empirical facts. First, excess mortality was much higher in regions with a higher share of ethnic Ukrainians, even outside of the Soviet Republic of Ukraine. Second, this cannot be explained by differences in natural conditions, grain productivity, demographic structure or urbanization. Third, in regions with a higher share of ethnic Ukrainians, Soviet economic policies were implemented more zealously, which resulted in higher food procurement and famine mortality. Fourth, there is suggestive evidence that mortality was exacerbated by the presence of non-ethnic Ukrainian Communist Party bureaucrats. These and other results in the paper provide novel evidence for the presence of ethnic bias in famine-era Soviet policies and the contribution of ethnic bias to famine mortality.  

*All fall lunches will take place via zoom

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