This concentration area will cover a key arena of contemporary debates on the role of inequality for social and political cohesion, economic and social sustainability. The concentration area runs over two semesters, with a two-hour unit running in summer semesters followed by four-hour units running in winter semesters. Although the two units are assessed separately, they should be interpreted as an integrated unit where lessons from the two-hour unit carry over to the four-hour unit course.

In this first semester, the concentration area will start with introducing students to standard work on on earnings, wage and wealth inequality, the causes of and consequences for individuals and society. It will then critically question and move beyond a narrow focus on individual or household income to various forms of group inequality (gender, ethnic, territories, neighborhoods) and none-monetary forms of inequality, rounded off by discussions on power relations, the role of the media, and the decisive role of institutions.

In keeping with the requirements of a socio-economic approach, this requires a trans-disciplinary focus drawing not only on economics but also on sociology, political science, philosophy, feminist theory and geography.

At the end of this course, students should acquire the following learning outcomes:

• Acquire a profound understanding of the political economy of inequality
• Analysis of economic inequality, and economic policies regarding inequality
• Critical reflection of core concepts and themes within the inequality topic
• Contextualisation of economic approaches and policies towards inequality

In addition students should strenghen their discussion skills, their ability to draft a project outline, as well as their ability to self-dependent learning within this course.

Students may miss one session without penalty.

The course will be delivered as a mix of lectures, independent reading, critical engagement with and discussion of readings, and, in the second semester, supervised group projects.

Assessment:

• Class participation 30%
• Short written assignments 30%
• Group take home exam 40%

Grading rubric:

1: 90+ points

2: 75-89 points

3: 60-74 points

4: 50-59 points

5: 0-49 points

juergen.essletzbichler@wu.ac.at; andrea.grisold@wu.ac.at; hendrik.theine@wu.ac.at