| Instructor Information | Course Information |
|---|---|
| Anthony Howell, PhD | Course Meeting Place/Time: Mondays, 1:00-2:50pm, 二教421 |
| Office: #322 School of Economics Bldg. | Office Hours: By Appt. |
| Email: tonyjhowell@pku.edu.cn | Course Website: Piazza Link |
In the U.S. and other countries, the rise in income inequality over the last three decades has been one of the most important economic phenomena of the post-World War II period, with enormous implications for individual welfare, social relations, and government policy. To exemplify this matter, rising income inequality played a key role in Donald Trump’s election victory and the Brexit vote. This class will focus on macro and micro-issues related to inequality in the U.S. as well as other country contexts. Important questions are as follows. What are the trends in global inequality, between countries and within countries? What determines the gap in income between workers with different skill levels, as well as variation in income within skill groups? How have changes in technology, openness to trade, government policy, and the quantities of factors themselves contributed to changes in these relative returns? Finally, how does inequality feed back to affect macroeconomic stability and long term growth?
There is no required text for this course. All Reading will be provided on the course website.
The course activity is subject to change.
| Activity | Grade Contribution |
|---|---|
| Weekly Assignment/Participation | 10% |
| Quizzes | 40% |
| Final Group project | 50% |
Weekly Assignment/Participation: Each student will prepare and submit a short summary of a current events news article that is related to the assigned reading/weekly topic. Write 1-2 paragraphs about the article that summarize the following: What is main topic? What is main argument? What are policy implications? Then pose one question about the news article for discussion in class. Please submit on Piazza Sunday evening before 11:59pm. Note that the main reason for the summaries is to facilitate course discussions. It is encouraged and expected that each student participate and contribute to course discussions.
Quizzes Two quizzes will be administered during the semester to ensure students are engage in lecture and the Reading. Questions will be multiple-choice and come mostly from lecture, although some will come directly from the readings not necessarily discussed in-class. Quizzes will be open-note/laptop. The goal is not necessarily to test memorization skills, but to be familiar enough with the material to easily reference answers to question, and to then test critical thinking skills.
Final Group project: Students will be provided a short list of interesting research topics related to the course. Students will choose one research topic and carry out the following tasks: 1. write a short research proposal; 2. prepare a written research report; and 3. give a digital poster presentation.
Research Proposal. Maximum 1 page project proposal including the following: why the problem is important, what has been done so far in the field, and what are the expected outcomes.
Research Report/Presentation. Students will extend the proposal and convert it into a formal research report (approximately 8-10 pages per student), and give brief presentation.
I have created a Piazza for the course. All course resources will be posted to piazza, including the course syllabus, lecture materials, assigned Reading, and helpful tutorials for learning R. The WeChat group and the Piazza forum serve as discussion forums for the class in order to facilitate interaction between students and to promote broader participation. Students are expected to conduct themselves with respect by posting comments and replies only in the context of the course. Use the Piazza group to ask general questions about the homework, group debates, and lectures. You can also paste small snippets of code (on Piazza) to clarify an idea. Students are encouraged to answer each others’ questions. Recall that your thoughtful participation in this forum accounts for part of your final grade.
Class attendance is expected and note taking encouraged. Important information may be communicated only in the lectures. We may also cover additional material (not available in the notes) during the lecture. If you miss a lecture, you should find what material was covered and if any announcement was made. Handouts for each course lecture will be posted on the course website.
Excessive tardiness or absences will negatively affect your final grade. Any late work will be subject to a 5% grade reduction for each late day. Plagiarism is not allowed in any form. To avoid distractions, please do not use your cell phones or surf the web during class.
I value students’ opinions regarding my teaching effectiveness and the content, pace and level of difficulty of the course. I will take student feedback in consideration to make this course as exciting and engaging as possible. Thus, I will ask students for feedback during the semester by giving students a short survey on my teaching effectiveness, preferred teaching methods, and pace of the class. You can also leave anonymous feedback in the form of a note in my departmental mail box.
| Week | Topic | Required Reading/Assignment |
|---|---|---|
| 2/20 | Inequality Overview | No Reading |
| 2/27 | Growth and Inequality | Ostry et al. (2014), IMF Working Paper, pgs 5-26 (Link) |
| 3/6 | No Class | No Reading |
| 3/13 | U.S. Inequality: An Overview | Fox (2014), HBR, pgs 1-9 (Link) |
| 3/20 | Inequality, Social Mobility and the Great Gatsby Curve | Corak (2013), JEL, pg. 79-99 (Link) |
| 3/27 | Inequality and Social Mobility in China | Fan et al. (2015), Working paper, pg. 1-27 (Link) |
| 4/3 | Main Drivers behind Increasing Inequality | Kaymak and Poschke (2016), JME, pg. 1-24 (Link) |
| 4/10 | Review and Quiz 1 | No Reading |
| 4/17 | Labor Income Inequality and Gender | Autor (2014), Science, pg. 1-10 (Link) |
| 4/24 | Labor Income Inequality and Ethnicity | Thompson and Gustavo, Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, pg. 1:33 (Link) |
| 5/1 | No Class - Holiday | 1-Page Group Project Proprosla Due (Friday 11:59pm, 5/5) |
| 5/8 | Inequality and Role of Institutions: Minimum Wages | Autor et al. (2016), AER:Applied, pg. 58-89 (Link) |
| 5/15 | Migration and Inequality | Howell (2017), World Dev., pg. 1-20 (link) |
| 5/22 | Review and Quiz 2 | No Reading |
| 5/29 | Final Presentations | No Reading |
| 6/5 | Final Presentations | Final Group Paper Due (Friday 11:59pm, 6/9) |