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Charles M. Becker, Research Professor, Education

Contact Info:

Office Location:	138 Social Science
Office Phone:	(919) 660-1800
Email Address:
Web Page:	http://www.econ.duke.edu/Econ/Faculty/Users/cbecker.html

Teaching (Fall 2024):

• ECON 605.001, ADV MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS Synopsis

  Social Sciences 119, MW 04:40 PM-05:55 PM

• ECON 605.01D, ADV MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS Synopsis

  Social Sciences 113, Th 08:45 AM-09:35 AM

Office Hours:

Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 - 11:00

Education:

Ph.D.	Princeton University	1981
M.A.	Princeton University	1977
B.A.	Grinnell College	1976

Specialties:

Development Economics
Economic Systems
Health Economics
Urban and Real Estate Economics

Research Interests: Economic Demography; transition economies; urban and regional economics

Current projects: social security forecasting in Kazakhstan, multi regional social security forecasting in Kyrgyzstan, mortality risk in Kazakhstan, migration in the former USSR, disability risk in Russia, determinants of health care utilization in Russia, Russian financial sector development, suburbanization in Indian cities, minority enrolments in graduate economics programs, determinants of poverty in Kyrgyzstan

Professor Becker's research interests include social security system forecasting, the economics of transition economies, economic demography, computable general equiliibrium simulation modeling, and urban economics. He has written books on urbanization in India and in sub-Saharan Africa, on the impact of sanctions in South Africa and neighboring countries, and on a computable general equilibrium simulation model of India. He is currently writing a book on the distributional impacts of pension reform in Kazakhstan, and has ongoing projects on fertility decline in Africa, the graying of poverty in developing countries, on migration and demographic change in the former USSR, on mortality risk in Kazakhstan, on poverty in Kyrgyzstan, on disability risk in Russia, on health care utilization in East Siberia, on Indian suburbanization, and on US minority enrolments in graduate economics programs. Professor Becker joined Duke in 2003, having previously taught at Vanderbilt University, the University of Colorado at Denver, and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He currently serves as Director of the American Economic Association's Summer Program and Minority Scholarship Program, and is on the Board of Directors of the National Economic Association.

Areas of Interest:

pension/social security system forecasting
urbanization and migration in developing countries
inter-regional migration in the former USSR
mortality and disability in the former USSR
population aging and fertility in developing and transition countries
US minority student performance and progression to graduate study

Keywords:

demography • transition economies • developing economies • sub-Saharan Africa • Central Asia • Kazakhstan • India • Russia • former Soviet Union • urban economics • migration • mortality • disability

Curriculum Vitae

Working Papers   (More Publications)

1. Charles M. Becker and Irina S. Merkuryeva, Disability Risk and Miraculous Recoveries in Russia (2008)
2. Charles M. Becker and Ai-Gul S. Seitenova, Disability in Kazakhstan: making sense of recent trends, World Bank Social Protection Discussion Paper 0802 (February 2008)

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

1. Charles M. Becker, Grigory A. Marchenko, Sabit Khakimzhanov, Ai-Gul S. Seitenova, and Vladimir Ivliev, SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM IN TRANSITION ECONOMICS: LESSONS FROM KAZAKHSTAN (2009), New York: Palgrave Macmillan
2. Charles M. Becker and Gregory N. Price, Curriculum Intensity in Graduate Preparatory Programs: Impact on Performance and Progression to Graduate Study among Minority Students in Economics, in DOCTORAL EDUCATION AND THE FACULTY OF THE FUTURE, edited by Ronald G. Ehrenberg and Charlotte V. Kuh (2008), Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, ISBN 978-0-8014-4543-9
3. Becker, CM, Urbanization and rural-urban migration, in INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, edited by Amitava Krishna Dutt and Jaime Ros (December, 2008), pp. 516-531, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar
4. Charles M. Becker, Ai-Gul Seitenova and Dina S. Urzhumova, Pension Reform in Central Asia: an Overview, in ECONOMICS OF INTERGENERATIONAL EQUITY IN TRANSITION ECONOMIES, edited by Masaaki Kuboniwa and Yoshiaki Nishimura (2006), Tokyo: Maruzen Publishers (Ch. 9.)