30195 - ECONOMICS (POVERTY, INEQUALITY AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION)
Department of Social and Political Sciences
Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 31
BAI (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/01) - BEMACS (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/01) - BESS-CLES (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/01) - BGL (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/01) - BIEF (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/01) - BIEM (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/01) - BIG (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/01) - CLEACC (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/01) - CLEAM (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/01) - WBB (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/01)
Course Director:
DIOGO GERHARD CASTRO DE BRITTO
DIOGO GERHARD CASTRO DE BRITTO
Suggested background knowledge
PREREQUISITES
Attendance of introductory courses of microeconomics, mathematics, and statistics is expected. Students should be familiar with basic concepts such as utility functions, derivatives, probability distribution functions, expected values, mean, median, variance, and other basic statistical and mathematical concepts
Mission & Content Summary
MISSION
The measurement of inequality and poverty, their trends and their determinants are central questions in economics and the social sciences, with renewed relevance after the financial crisis and the great recession and in light of debates on the top 1%, technological change and equality of opportunity. The mission of this course is to introduce students to the main approaches to the measurement of inequality and poverty, to their main trends at the global level, and to their fundamental determinants. For each topic the course discusses the relevant theoretical framework, the main measurement issues, and the available empirical evidence, drawing on recent academic literature and research papers. The course is particularly targeted to students who plan to enroll in a Master or Ph.D. program, while welcoming students from all degrees and backgrounds willing to get exposure to the academic literature on these topics.
CONTENT SUMMARY
Trends in Inequality and Poverty:
- Inequality, the financial crisis, and the great recession.
- Global trends in inequality and poverty. Measurement Tools:
- Measurement: the need for criteria; the transfer principle and other criteria for evaluating inequality measures.
- Income distribution functions: Pareto, Normal and Log-normal.
- Partial ordering methods: stochastic dominance and the Lorenz Curve.
- Complete ordering methods: the Gini index.
Inequality:
- The top 1%: capital in the XXI century.
- The remaining 99%: technology, skills, education, job polarization, robots and the rise of earnings inequality.
- Political inequality.
- Intergenerational inequality: where is the Land of Opportunity? Measurement of intergenerational income elasticity, rank-rank regressions, and the Great Gatsby curve.
Poverty:
- Measurement: poverty measures and social stratification.
- Anti-poverty policies: optimal design of cash benefits.
- Universal Basic Income in Advanced Countries.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
- Estimate several measures of Economic Inequality and Poverty.
- Select the most appropriate measure of Inequality/Poverty according to the research question, the context or the type of data.
- Identify advantages and disadvantages of each measure of Inequality/Poverty.
- Distinguish between different types and definitions of Economic Inequality.
- Describe trends and the main determinants of Economic Inequality.
- Summarize the available empirical evidence on Inequality and Poverty.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
- Discuss the extent and dynamics of Economic Inequality and Poverty based on normative theory and empirical evidence.
- Compute and compare different measures of Inequality/Poverty.
- Use and interpret income distribution functions.
- Analyze and discuss academic research papers and empirical evidence on Inequality and Poverty.
Teaching methods
- Lectures
- Practical Exercises
- Collaborative Works / Assignments
- Interaction/Gamification
DETAILS
In addition to face-to-face lectures, the course uses databases and the software STATA to better understand the theoretical measures of Inequality and Poverty, to calculate measures of Inequality and Poverty in class and to plot graphs. Knowledge of STATA is NOT required and students will not be tested on their STATA knowledge. As a group assignment, students can (but it is not compulsory) choose to prepare an in-class group presentation of a given research paper, delivered in interactive presentation sessions with peers. This activity is aimed at developing students' ability to read, analyze and discuss academic research papers on Inequality and Poverty
Assessment methods
| Continuous assessment | Partial exams | General exam | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
x | x | |
|
x |
ATTENDING STUDENTS
With the purpose of measuring the acquisition of the above-mentioned learning outcomes, students have two assessment options available, based on the student’s preference. The same assessment methods apply to attending and non-attending students.
· Option 1 – Written exam only, worth 100% of the final score. The written exam consists of exercises, closed questions and multiple choice questions aimed at assessing students’ ability to estimate several measures of Economic Inequality and Poverty and to select the most appropriate measure according to the research question, the context or the type of data, as well as their ability to analyze and discuss the extent and dynamics of Economic Inequality and Poverty based on normative theory and empirical evidence.
· Option 2 – Written exam worth 70% of the final score plus an in-class group presentation of a given research paper worth 30% of the final score. The written exam has the same characteristics and assessment objectives as in Option 1; the presentation assesses whether students develop adequate skills to read, analyze and discuss academic research papers on Inequality and Poverty.
· If the presentation score ends up being below the score in the written exam, then the written exam is worth 100%. By deciding to present, students can therefore only improve the score obtained in the written exam and are not penalized if the presentation score is lower.
· Under both options the written exam can be taken either as two partial exams or as one comprehensive exam. The weights are:
o Option 1: 50% for each of the two partial exams, or 100% for one comprehensive exam.
o Option 2: 35% for each of the two partial exams, or 70% for one comprehensive exam, plus 30% for the presentation.
· Knowledge of STATA is not required and students are not tested on their STATA knowledge.
NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
The assessment methods for non-attending students are the same as for attending students.
· The written exam consists of exercises, closed questions and multiple choice questions, with the same content and assessment objectives as for attending students.
· The written exam can be taken either as two partial exams or as one comprehensive exam. The weights are:
· Option 1: 50% for each of the two partial exams, or 100% for one comprehensive exam.
· Option 2: 35% for each of the two partial exams, or 70% for one comprehensive exam, plus 30% for the presentation.
If the presentation score ends up being below the score in the written exam, the written exam is worth 100%.
Teaching materials
ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
There is no textbook for this class. All methodological issues are covered in detail in the classnotes P. PINOTTI, Tools for the Analysis of Income Inequality and Poverty, uploaded on Bboard. The course is also based on academic research papers uploaded on Bboard. The slides used for lectures are uploaded on Bboard and are compulsory study material for the course.
Last change 11/06/2026 16:30