Course 2014-2015 a.y.

30195 - ECONOMICS (POVERTY, INEQUALITY AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION)


CLEAM - CLEF - CLEACC - BESS-CLES - BIEMF

Department of Social and Political Sciences

Course taught in English

Go to class group/s: 31
CLEAM (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/01) - CLEF (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/01) - CLEACC (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/01) - BESS-CLES (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/01) - BIEMF (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/01)
Course Director:
PAOLO PINOTTI

Classes: 31 (I sem.)
Instructors:
Class 31: PAOLO PINOTTI


Course Objectives

The course consists of three parts. The first part introduces the theoretical and practical issues faced by the measurement of poverty and inequality. The second part discusses some of their fundamental caused, including international trade, immigration, and technical change. Finally, we review the evidence about the effectiveness of alternative policies for fighting poverty.


Course Content Summary

Introduction
  • The World distribution of income.
  • Long-run trends in poverty and inequality.
  • Poverty headcounts.
Measurement: theoretical framework.
  • Pareto, Gini and the Lorenz curve.
  • The Atkinson's Index.
  • The Atkinson’s Index.
  • The axiomatic approach.
Causes and consequences of poverty and inequality.
  • Globalization and skill-biased technical change: new views on an old debate.
  • International migration.
  • The capital/income ratio in the long-run.


Policy analysis
  • Aid effectiveness: the evidence across countries.
  • Randomized control trials.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

The exam is written.


Textbooks

Il materiale didattico viene distribuito dal docente ed è scaricabile dalla piattaforma e-learning
Exam textbooks & Online Articles (check availability at the Library)

Prerequisites

No specific prerequisites are required but basic knowledge of microeconomics, macroeconomic and statistics. The course is mainly addressed toward students who plan to enrol in the Master of Science.

Last change 16/06/2014 10:56