In this class we will discuss and analyse Tony Atkinson's last book "Inequality - What can be done?" (Note: It's an E-Book!) which is his intellectual estate for all scholars of inequality. Tony Atkinson (1944-2017) is certainly the doyen of the theory of distribution (you may have a look on his obituaries there).

I will present Chap.1-3 in the first three units (13.- 27.10.2022). After this introduction on 3 November 2022 an interim exam will follow.

Chap. 4 until Chap. 10 of the book will be presented by you (in groups of three; we will skip Chap.11). It is expected that you present the main content of each chapter. Additionally it is highly welcome if you also present current research on each respective chapter. Therefore the following additional sources should be used:

•     literature cited in the footnotes by each individual chapter
•     current empirical research (for Austria, the EU or/and globally) if available

The chapter "The Way Forward" will be presented and discussed in the last unit (19 January 2023) before the exam.

The final exam is scheduled for 26 January 2023.

We will discuss all details of class in the 1st unit on 13 October 2022. Attendance in this unit is mandatory.

Participants should:

•     gain an overview of the most important aspects of the current distributional policy discussion
•     learn and understand important theoretical concepts of income and wealth distribution
•     get an overview on empirical studies of income and wealth distributions (global, Europe, USA, Austria)

Attendance and active participation is mandatory for all units.

Presence is mandatory in all units.

Participants will present chapter 4-10 of the book in groups of three.

In the last unit there will be a final exam.

Subject matter:

• Chap.1-10 (p.1-280)  and 'The Way Forward' (p.301-308)
• Slides provided by W.A.

• interim exam: 10%
• final exam: 40%
• written seminar paper: 20%
• presentation of the paper: 20%
• contributions at class: 10%

• basic knowledge in micro and macro

• (strong) interest in distributional issues

Homepage

altzing@wu.ac.at

Office hours: Monday 2-3 pm. (Please make an appointment in advance!)

You may also visit our Research Institute "Economics of Inequality" (where you can find a lot of additional materials on inequality).