Public Policy
Objectives
This course aims at providing students with a broad knowledge about poverty. The focus is on the manifold relationships between poverty and the labor and housing markets, family composition and fertility choices, and education. It starts with poverty measurement in the following perspectives: static, dynamic, uni-dimensional, and multi- dimensional, this latter relating to equality of opportunity and civic participation. It provides an understanding of poverty?s main causes, and helps the students into critical thinking about how to fight it. It also covers the basics of low-income support programs. The students are endowed with the tools to critically assess different programs aiming at reducing poverty in developed countries.
General characterization
Code
2687
Credits
3.5
Responsible teacher
Susana Peralta
Hours
Weekly - Available soon
Total - Available soon
Teaching language
English
Prerequisites
n/a
Bibliography
The Economics of Poverty, by Martin Ravaillon (2016)
Poverty and Discrimination, by Kevin Lang (2007)
Selected research papers and book chapters
Teaching method
The course relies on a variety of lerning methods to ensure that the students are exposed to different challenges. Classes based on lecture slides and discussion. The data assingment is a hands-on experience with household data. The presentation of research papers fosters the students' critical view about different research strategies and questions.
Evaluation method
Data assignment (groups of 4 to 6 people ) ? 30%
Presentation of empirical papers in class ? 20%
Final exam (individual) ? 35%
Research proposal (individual) ? 15%
Subject matter
Motivation: basic facts about poverty
History of Poverty: concept and measurement
Motivation: basic facts about poverty History of Poverty: concept and measurement
Low income support: assistance vs insurance
Using household surveys for poverty and inequality measurement
Measurement issues: Poverty lines , Equivalence scales, Uni-dimensional vs multidimensional poverty, Static vs dynamic poverty
Impact evaluation: the counterfactual; internal and external validity; experiments; observational data; ethics.
Beyond income support
labour markets the importance of cognitive and non-cognitive skills: education and early childhood interventions the role of geography: neighbourhoods and urban policy aspirations and role models
In-class discussion of policy evaluation papers