DAVID CLINGINGSMITH

Assistant Professor of Economics Weatherhead School of Management 11119 Bellflower Road Cleveland, Ohio 44106   Office Phone: 216-368-4294 Email: david.clingingsmith@case.edu

I work in applied microeconomics. My areas of interest are eclectic and include economic decision making in social contexts, the evolution of language and culture, and personal finance. I am currently studying how beliefs about ability and luck influence social preferences, how people decide how much house they can afford to buy, the role of economic development in changing investments in language abilities, how ethnolinguistic groups evolve, and the effects of incentives on health care delivery in developing countries. I completed my Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University in June, 2007. My training at Harvard was in development economics, labor economics, and economic history. I also have an M.A. in anthropology from the University of Chicago.

Recent Publications

Estimating the Impact of the Hajj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam’s Global Gathering
With Asim Ijaz Khwaja and Michael Kremer

(Quarterly Journal of Economics, August 2009)

Abstract: We estimate the impact on pilgrims of performing the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Our method compares successful and unsuccessful applicants in a lottery used by Pakistan to allocate Hajj visas. Pilgrim accounts stress that the Hajj leads to a feeling of unity with fellow Muslims, but outsiders have sometimes feared that this could be accompanied by antipathy toward non-Muslims. We find that participation in the Hajj increases observance of global Islamic practices such as prayer and fasting while decreasing participation in localized practices and beliefs such as the use of amulets and dowry. It increases belief in equality and harmony among ethnic groups and Islamic sects and leads to more favorable attitudes toward women, including greater acceptance of female education and employment. Increased unity within the Islamic world is not accompanied by antipathy toward non-Muslims. Instead, Hajjis show increased belief in peace, and in equality and harmony among adherents of different religions. The evidence suggests that these changes are more a result of exposure to and interaction with Hajjis from around the world, rather than religious instruction or a changed social role of pilgrims upon return.

Deindustrialization in 18th and 19th Century India: Mughal Decline, Climate Shocks and British Industrial Ascent
With Jeffrey Williamson

(Explorations in Economic History, Vol 45, Issue 3)

Abstract: India was a major player in the world export market for textiles in the early 18th century, but by the middle of the 19th century it had lost all of its export market and much of its domestic market, primarily to Britain. The ensuing deindustrialization was greatest c1750-c1860. We ask how much of India's deindustrialization was due to local supply-side forces -- such as political fragmentation and a rising incidence of drought, and how much to world price shocks. An open, three-sector neo-Ricardian model organizes our thinking and new relative price database implements the empirical analysis. We find local supply side forces were important from as early as 1700. The size of Indian deindustrialization is then assessed by comparison with other parts of the periphery.

Winner of the Explorations Prize for best paper in Explorations in Economic History in 2008

Working Papers

Industrialization and Bilingualism in India (New Version)

Abstract: Many of the world's poorest people live in countries where hundreds of languages are spoken. Languages bind ethnic groups together and are central to cultural identity. However, language differences create barriers to economic exchange, such as employment, that can create economic incentives to learn a second language. Economic development can thus drive cultural change. I study how the growth of industrial employment increased bilingualism in India between 1931 and 1961. I exploit industrial clustering and sectoral demand growth for identification. The effect on bilingualism was strongest among local linguistic minorities and in linguistically fragmented areas. Language learning, rather than migration or assimilation, was the main mechanism. My results shed new light on human capital investment in developing economies and on the long-run evolution of languages.

Contracting for Health: Evidence from Cambodia
With Indu Bhushan, Erik Bloom, Elizabeth King, Michael Kremer, Benjamin Loevinsohn, Rathavuth Hong, and J. Brad Schwartz

Abstract: Cambodia contracted the management of government health services to NGOs in five districts that had been randomly made eligible. The contracts set explicit targets for a set of maternal and child health services. Targeted outcomes improved by about one-half baseline standard deviation relative to comparison districts. Changes in non-targeted outcomes were small. The program increased the availability of 24-hour service, reduced provider absence, and increased supervisory visits. There is some evidence it improved health. The program involved increased public health funding, but led to roughly offsetting reductions in private expenditure as residents in treated districts switched from unlicensed drug sellers and traditional healers to government clinics. The program showed that relatively small expenditures can lead to large gains in health care provision when enforceable targets are set.

Work in Progress (predraft stage)

Self-serving bias, luck, and redistribution with Justin Sydnor and Mark Votruba

Credit, budgets, and shopping for houses with Daniel Hartley and Justin Sydnor

Identity and cooperation

Economic development and the evolution of diversity