ECON BC 3011 Inequality and Poverty

Upper-level Elective

Prof. Sonia Pereira

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:10-5:25 p.m.

Course description

The course explores recent definitions, causes and trends in poverty and inequality in the U.S. It also discusses anti-poverty policy including a comparison of the US and European welfare Systems and a discussion of particular policies such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, Welfare Reform, Minimum Wages and early childhood interventions. Other topics covered are: intergenerational transmission of income, discrimination and anti-discrimination policy, health inequality, family structure and neighborhood effects.

Evaluation

Evaluation consists of a midterm exam (35%), two short take-home quiz papers (10%), a final exam (50%) and attendance and class participation (5%).

Readings

Most readings consist of journal articles or book chapters which will be posted on Courseworks. In addition, a few chapters from the following textbook will be required: Borjas, George, 2005. Labor Economics, 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill. (a costume e-book with the selected chapters will be available for purchase).

Prerequisites: ECON BC3033 Intermediate Macro Theory or ECON BC3035 Intermediate Micro Theory