Gordon McCord

Gordon McCord has an extensive background in sustainable development, working at the intersection of environmental economics, public health and economic development. His research employs spatial data analysis and satellite remote sensing on topics such as sustainable land use; the burden of a changing climate on infectious diseases and child nutrition; and the health and economic impacts of agricultural technology diffusion. 

In public health, his research includes ecology-based models to estimate infectious disease burden in populations lacking sufficient health data collection mechanisms; vector-borne disease early warning systems; and financial modeling of primary health care systems.

McCord directs the SDG Policy Initiative at the School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS), which uses the Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to support policymakers with data-driven, evidence-based solutions for a sustainable future. He is a senior advisor to the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and has advised national and subnational governments around the world.

At GPS, McCord serves as associate dean of Student Affairs as well as associate teaching professor of economics. He teaches courses including Microeconomics for Policy and Management, GIS & Spatial Data Analysis and Spatial Analysis for Sustainable Development. He is also director of the Certificate in Spatial Analysis program at GPS.

He is a research affiliate at UC San Diego’s Policy Design and Evaluation Laboratory, a faculty affiliate of the Center for Global Effective Action and an invited researcher at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) North America.

Education and CV

Ph.D., Sustainable Development, Columbia University, 2011
B.A., Economics, Harvard University, 2002
CV
Google Citations

GPS Spotlight

McCord is Director of the Certificate in Spatial Analysis program and Director of Online Education at GPS. He teaches the following classes at the School:

Microeconomics for Policy and Management

This course introduces microeconomics, emphasizing applications to public policy. We examine tools such as marginal analysis and game theory to understand markets, the behavior of individuals and firms and what role policy plays when markets fail to maximize social welfare. Throughout the course we will supplement theory with real-world examples from newspaper and magazine articles.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Spatial Data Analysis

This course provides an introduction to GIS and spatial data analysis for applied social science research. Students will work in QGIS to manipulate different types of georeferenced data, visualize data, import/export data from Excel and R/Stata, and conduct spatial analysis (for example clustering analysis, interpolation, kernel densities, and geographically weighted regression). Basic knowledge of statistics and regression (ordinary least squares) is assumed, as is familiarity with R/Stata software. The course will also look to motivate geography as an important lens through which to study society and invite guest lecturers to present different kinds of research that employ GIS.

Spatial Analysis for Sustainable Development

(Not currently offered)
This course focuses on the challenges of sustainable development through the lens of spatial analysis.  Organized thematically by individual Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the course surveys the latest literature employing spatial data or remote sensing to improve SDG monitoring or policy design.  As a culminating exercise for the three-course Spatial Analysis sequence, students will produce a policy advising report for a country government, using spatial analysis to propose a public investment plan to put the country on track to meet an SDG.

Integrated Development Practice

(Not currently offered)
This course complements the concepts taught in Economic Development (IRGN 451) by introducing students to the basic competencies and practical skills of a development practitioner. Lectures will be grounded in a practical, multi-sectorial approach that will focus on the inter-relationship of the social sciences, health sciences and natural sciences (agronomy, engineering). Lectures outside the social sciences will be led where possible by guests who are development practitioners in their field. In parallel to lectures, the course will emphasize the idea of a “differential diagnosis for development” through case studies of developing countries. Students will work in teams and focus on one developing country, tasked with diagnosing obstacles to sustained economic development and poverty reduction. These case studies will rely heavily on both policy documents and data-driven approaches. Students will be asked to manipulate data in Stata & GIS formats to identify poverty hotspots and use household survey data to characterize poor households and poverty traps. Issues around scaling up best practices from pilots to national level will be emphasized. Students will be asked to put forward policy recommendations to government based on their analysis of existing national policy frameworks & data.