Associate Professor, Director of the Program on International Development
When it comes to textbooks, Andy Baker is one professor who鈥檚 been on both sides of the coin. Not only has he taught from different textbooks throughout his career, he鈥檚 also written his own textbook, Shaping the Developing World, which was published in 2014.
鈥淭he book was based on a large interdisciplinary literature about why some countries are rich and some are poor,鈥� said the CU professor. 鈥淚t was a fun challenge to try and organize that information in a way that would be engaging for undergrads.鈥�
Baker also published a scholarly book, The Market and the Masses in Latin America, in the year 2009. The book pulled from research he did as a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
鈥淚 conducted survey research in Brazil,鈥� said Baker. 鈥淚 was primarily interested in what common Brazilian citizens thought about the country鈥檚 transformation towards a more market-oriented economy.鈥�
In the years since he completed his dissertation and earned his PhD, Baker has taught at the University of Houston, Northeastern University, and the University of Colorado Boulder. It was at CU that he got involved with the Program on International Development, which is based at CU鈥檚 Institute of Behavioral Science.
鈥淭he program existed in previous forms for a while, but it was renamed a year ago,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a group of social scientists from different disciplines that are brought together by a common interest in issues of underdevelopment worldwide.鈥�
The program is made up of CU faculty members who examine important issues in less-developed countries such as material welfare, regime change, democratization, and political violence.
鈥淲e try and pursue outside funding and grant opportunities that will enable us to study these topics,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淲e also bring in outside speakers and other experts on these topics, and we have a workshop where members present a draft of a paper and we give feedback on it.鈥�
Baker has been involved with the program since 2008, and took on the director position this past summer.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to turn the program into one that鈥檚 well-known around the university and community, and one that鈥檚 successful in bringing in resources for CU,鈥� he said. He looks forward to going after external funds in the near future, which he calls a 鈥榳in-win situation.鈥�
听鈥淭he money enables us to collect new data,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 exciting because the money that comes into CU benefits everyone around campus, from undergrads up to administration.鈥�
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