This award provides support to Dr. Michael Kremer under the National Science Foundation's Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers Program (PECASE) formerly called the Presidential Faculty Fellows (PFF) Program. These programs were established at the request of the President of the United States to recognize and support the scholarly activities of some of the Nation's most outstanding science and engineering faculty members early in their careers. Awards are intended to allow the scientists to undertake self-designed, innovative research and teaching projects, to establish research and teaching programs, and to pursue other academic related activities. This award will allow the investigator to pursue his research interests in the analysis of economic growth and economic development. He examines the factors that explain divergent growth rates among industrial economies, as well as the forces that determine standards of living and economic growth rates in developing nations. He has developed highly creative and insightful models to describe the growth process, and done path-breaking work on the role of education and health policy in developing nations. During the five year grant, he will continue study of both long-run economic growth and social policy in developing countries through various studies looking at production processes, the determinants of technological progress, the effects of educational inputs, and the effects of health policies on economic growth. In the area of teaching and education, Dr. Kremer is revitalizing the field of development economics. He will be designing new classes and reorganizing the coursework for students majoring in economics. He is also developing new advanced undergraduate courses designed for students not majoring in economics who are interested in the politics, sociology, and the economic growth process in both industrial and developing nations. Dr. Kremer is redefining the field of economic development and building bridges between academic work and applications in developing countries. His research promises to continue to produce important insights into issues in labor economics, health economics, and the economics of education and development. Also, this five year award will provide an opportunity for him to train undergraduate and graduate students in the important field of development economics.
