Syllabus

Title
1559 Sustainable Economics and Business II: Dimensions of Socioeconomic Inequalities
Instructors
Univ.Prof. Dr. Jürgen Essletzbichler
Contact details
Type
PI
Weekly hours
2
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
09/12/19 to 09/29/19
Registration via LPIS
Notes to the course
Subject(s) Bachelor Programs
Dates
Day Date Time Room
Thursday 10/10/19 09:00 AM - 11:30 AM TC.5.18
Thursday 10/17/19 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM TC.4.02
Thursday 10/24/19 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM TC.3.03
Thursday 10/31/19 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM D4.0.039
Thursday 11/07/19 08:30 AM - 10:30 AM TC.5.01
Thursday 11/14/19 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM TC.5.18
Thursday 11/21/19 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM EA.5.030
Thursday 11/28/19 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM TC.4.02
Thursday 12/05/19 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM TC.5.18
Thursday 12/12/19 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM TC.5.18
Thursday 12/19/19 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM TC.5.18
Contents

Levels of inequality have skyrocket since the neoliberal revolution of the early 1980s. Inequality is no longer considered an unfortunate by-product of economic growth but now recognized as key causal, contributing factor to explain the origin and severity of the Great Depression, high unemployment rates, health, crime and other social problems or the erosion of democratic decision making and the rise of populism.

Existing work is dominated by economists attributing rising inequality to Skill-Biased Technological Change, Trade Competition from low wage countries and, to a lesser extent, the decline in labor market institutions. Sociologists shift the focus from inequality among individuals to inequality between different groups based on class, gender, race or age. Political scientists, not surprisingly, are interested in the corroding influence on democratic decisions making and the rise of populism, while geographers highlight the spatial dimension of inequality.

This course will illustrate the rise of inequality at various spatial scales, offer you theories to try and understand the rise, and engage you in discussions about politically relevant questions: Do we need a wealth tax? Should we raise taxes on top incomes? Why people should (not) pay inheritance tax? Do women choose to work and earn less? Do manager salaries reflect their higher value added to their company and economy? Are high wages the result of individual ability and hard work? Is inequality socially beneficial because it makes people try harder? Is inequality causing or caused by migration? Why is inequality higher in some countries than in others? What effect does higher/lower inequality have on the wellbeing? Is inequality fair? Is redistribution fair? Does inequality lead to more or less social segregation? When does segregation matter for people? Why is it good/bad to live in diverse/segregated neighborhoods?

After completing this course, you will have a better understanding of the causes of inequality, be able to critically evaluate academic research, be aware of your position in the national income distribution, know how to measure inequality and interpret them appropriately, be able to evaluate policy proposals targeting various income groups and write policy briefs, practice your logical reasoning and debating skills. More importantly you should become aware of inequality arising from a number of complex and inter-dependent processes, that inequality is the result of changes in market and non-market institutions, that some forms of inequality are more relevant than others and that there are no simple solutions to address it.

Learning outcomes

After completion of the course students will

  • obtain transferable skills such as self reflection, sensibility of diversity and understanding of complex relationships that are the economy
  • have acquired an understanding of inequality as one of our biggest challenges of our time
  • will be able to read critically and interpret academic literature to inform their discussions and evaluations of those challenges
  • appreciate the importance of empirical facts to substantiate an argument in a “postfactual world”
  • find out where to find scientifically acceptable information and how to interpret them
  • work as team to present solutions to reduce rising levels of inequality
Attendance requirements

Examination-immanent courses (PI) have compulsory attendance.
In case of absence the lecturers are to be informed in advance if possible.
More detailed regulations on absenteeism will be explained in the first unit.

Teaching/learning method(s)

The course is based on

  • Lectures
  • Weekly Readings
  • Discussions
  • Videos
  • Quizzes
Assessment

A perquisite for successful completion of the class is to read the weekly readings.

The final grade is a weighted sum of four

Quizzes (50 %)

Short Final Presentation of a Policy Proposal (25 %)

Participation in discussions based on weekly readings (25 %)

Quizzes (50 %)

There will be a short quiz in each lecture, except in the first and last lecture. There will be 5 questions in each quiz. The content is the key reading of the week. Overall, there will be nine quizzes, however, only 7 quizzes count (50%). If you participate in more than 7 quizzes, you get extra points for the correct answers (50+).

Active Participation in class (25 %)

Discussions in class will be based on readings (Journal articles, book chapters, blogposts, and newspaper articles) that students have to read before class. There is a reading list provided on learn@wu. Students are required to read the weekly compulsory reading. All the readings are provided on learn@wu as pdf or hyperlink.

Short Presentation of a Policy Proposal (25 %)

Groups of 2 students present a policy proposal from Atkinson (2015): Inequality – What Can be Done? The presentation should not take longer than 10 minutes. The relevant literature will be provided on learn@wu.

Prerequisites for participation and waiting lists

Course enrollment is on the basis of "first-come, first-served” principle. If you have registered but cannot participate in the course, please de-register via LPIS during the registration period so that your course is available to students on the waiting list.

 

If there is a waiting list for enrollment in the course, students at the waiting list will be notified after the end of the enrollment period, and will be allocated to available places. Students will be ranked by their study progress not by their rank on the waiting list.

 

This procedure, however, is not to be understood as a place guarantee!

Unit details
Unit Date Contents
1 12.10.2019

Inequality: The Issue

Course outline

(Why) Should we care about inequalities?

 

Compulsory readings:

Breau, S.; Essletzbichler J. (2013): Contesting Inequality. Environment and Planning A.

2 17.10.2019

Inequality: Basic Concepts, Measurement and how to read research papers

Inequality of what among whom?

 

Compulsory readings:

Critically Reading Journal Articles. https://ento.psu.edu/graduateprograms/handbook/degree-information/degree-requirements/phd/CriticallyReadingJournalArticles1.pdf. Downloaded from: www.colby.edu/biology/bi319/GuideReadJour.doc

Please note that this handout was based on similar handouts written by Jeremy Quayle and others as well as from:

http://srv2.lycoming.edu/~hakala/tips.htm

Keshav, S. How to read a paper? Standford University, https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee384m/Handouts/HowtoReadPaper.pdf

VOLUNTARY: Atkinson, A. (2015): Inequality. What can be done? Oxford, Oxford University Press. pp. 9 – 45

3 24.10.2019

Consequences of inequality: Why hasn’t democracy stopped rising inequality?

Why should we care? Micro-effects (Crime, Health, Political Participation and Democracy)

 

Compulsory readings:

Bonica, A., McCarty, N., Poole, K., and Rosenthal, H. (2013) Why hasn’t democracy slowed rising inequality? Journal of Economic Perspectives 27: 103-124.

4 31.10.2019

Consequences of inequality: Inequality as a cause of the Great Recession?

Why should we care? Macro-Effects (Inequality, Housing Bubbles, Debt and Crisis)

 

Compulsory readings:

Dustman, C., Fitzenberger, B. and Zimmermann, M (2018): Housing expenditures and income inequality: Shifts in housing costs exacerbated the rise in income inequality. https://voxeu.org/article/housing-expenditures-and-income-inequality

5 07.11.2019

Explaining rising inequality: Education, Technology, Globalization, Institutions

Who decides how much we get paid?

 

Compulsory readings:

Rodrik, D. (2018): Populism and the economics of globalization. Journal of International Business Policy https://doi.org/10.1057/s42214-018-0001-4

6 14.11.2019

We are the 99%

Do CEOs deserve their high incomes?

 

Compulsory readings:

Bivens, J and Mishel, L. (2013) The pay of corporate executives and financial professionals as evidence of rents in top 1 percent incomes. Journal of Economic Perspectives 27: 57-78.

7 21.11.2019

Globalization and inequality

Who are the people and country winners and loosers of globalization?

 

Compulsory readings:

Ravallion, M. (2018): Inequality and Globalization: A Review Essay. In: Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 56 (2), S. 620-642.

8 28.11.2019

Inequality in society and between places

Should we help poor people or poor places?

 

Compulsory readings:

Rodriguez Pose (2018). The revenge of the places that don’t matter. https://voxeu.org/article/revenge-places-dont-matter

NOT EASY, BUT VOLUNTARY: Storper, M. (2011) 'Justice, Efficiency and Economic Geography: Should Places Help One Another to Develop?' European Urban and Regional Studies, 2011

9 05.12.2019

Social Stratification – Inequality between Groups

Why do women do all the work and get paid so little?

 

Compulsory readings:

Kleven, H., Landais, C., Posch, J., Steinhauer, A., and Zweimüller, J. (2019) Child Penalities Across Countries. Forthcoming.

VOLUNTARY: OECD(2017): The pursuit of gender equality. An uphill battle, Chapters 12 and 13, p. 153-177

10 12.12.2019

Social Mobility, Inheritances and Wealth Inequality

Should we tax the rich?

 

Compulsory readings:

Corak, M. (2012): Income Inequality, Equality of Opportunity and Intergenerational Mobility. In: Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol. 27 (3), 79-102.

11 19.12.2019

Presentation and Discussion of Policy Proposals

Last edited: 2019-10-04



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