Causes and Consequences of Inequality (research)

Course goals

Learning objectives
At the end of the course the student is able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of trends in economic and social inequality
• Explain key theories and methodologies in the area of inequality
• Formulate own research questions and design on the topic of economic and social inequality
• Communicate existing research in presentation in small groups
• Work effectively in teams for a specific project with limited intervention or instruction.
• Provide effective feedback to peers
• Communicate own research design in a written format individually

Academic research

• Design a problem definition within the scope and design of the course.
• Determining the research approach
• Being able to search and select (additional) sources for the research.
• Being able to use correct references (APA style).
• Being able to draw clear and correct conclusions.

Analytical skills
Capable of distinguishing between different steps in a complex assignment and working in steps in order to arrive at a solution

Academic reasoning

• Being able to think as an economist at an academic level in a domain that intersects with other social sciences
• Being able to contribute to the development of the domain by doing research

Communication and social skills

• Being able to give a written report on a specific subject
• Being able to give a brief oral presentation on a specific subject
• Being able to work in a team for a well-designed task or project

Content

In this course, students learn about the causes and consequences of economic and social inequality. The goals of the course are to provide students with a broad and balanced perspective on inequality, using cutting-edge research insights; while also teaching skills that allow students to design and answer their own research questions. It covers topics such as education and skills; race, gender, and discrimination; and how advancing technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence are shaping the future of work.
The course will contain a weekly lecture and tutorial. During the lecture, we teach students the insights from economic theory and empirical analysis by topic. Our focus here is to bring students up to date on the scientific frontier from a broad and balanced perspective. During the tutorials, we focus on individual papers within a given topic related to inequality. Specifically, during each tutorial, a particular paper is presented and discussed. This invites students to think about the building blocks of economic research. What is the research question, and how do the scientists go about answering it? Finally, each student will be asked to write a short research proposal that builds on one of the papers that was discussed in the tutorials. In this piece,  students address the question: given this piece of research, what would be the next research question you would like to pose, and how would you go about answering it?

Assessment method
The goals of the course contain both a knowledge component (perspective on inequality) and a skills component which is reflected in the way students are assessed. The course will contain a combination of assessment formats, which require weekly engagement with the course material.
.
1.   A weekly quiz during the tutorial, consisting of multiple choice questions based on the content of the lecture, open book: 20% (individual grade)
2.   Presentation of a paper during the tutorial (teamwork in small groups of students): 30% (team grade)
3.   An endterm consisting of a two-page, individual research proposal that builds on a reviewed paper: 50% (individual grade)

Effort requirements

• Participation in at least 6 out of 8 tutorials.

Place of the course within the curriculum:
Students are expected to have knowledge of:

• Econometrics (ECB2METRIE)
• Intermediate Micro (ECB2VMIE)

 Courses that build on this course

• Bachelor thesis

In case online access is required for this course and you are not in the position to buy the access code, you are advised to contact the course coordinator for an alternative solution. Please note that access codes are not reusable meaning that codes from second hand books do not work, as well as access codes from books with a different ISBN. Separate or spare codes are usually not available.