42614 - Economics of Inequality

Learning outcomes

The course offers an introduction to the economic analysis of inequality and of the main theories of distributive justice. It aims to provide the conceptual tools needed to allow students to understand the main theoretical issues and to take part, with sufficient precision and autonomy, to the contemporary political and economic debate. 

Course contents

The course offers an introduction to the economic analysis of inequality, both at national and global level, and to the main theories of distributive justice.

+ Introduction:  inequality in an historical and comparative perspective.

+ Patrimonial capitalism, meritocracy and inequality in advanced countries

+ Equality of opportunity: definition and  measurement.

+ Global inequality

+ Inequality, poverty and growth

+ Land access, poverty and inequality; land reforms; land grabbing.

+ Water access, poverty and inequality; transboundary water management.

+ Inequality and global warming

+ Distributive justice and social choice: Arrow's impossibility theorem; Utilitarianism; Rawls; Nozick;

Readings/Bibliography

1. Introduction: concepts, measures, trends.

 Power point presentation;

2. Patrimonial capitalism, meritocracy and inequality in advanced countries

 Power point presentation;

 Piketty T., Capital in XXI century, Belknap Press 2014; chapters 1, 5, 7, 8;

3. Theories of distributive justice

 Power point presentation;

4. Inequality of opportunity

Power point presentation;

5. Global inequality

 Power point presentation;

 Milanovic B., Worlds Apart. Measuring International and Global Inequality, Princeton U.P. 2007; chapters 4, 8, 9, 11;

 6. Inequality, poverty and growth

 Power point presentation;

 Deininger K., Squire L., (1998), New ways of looking at old issues: inequality and growth, Journal of Development  Economics, vol. 57, 259-287.

7. Inequality, poverty and land access

 Power point presentation;

 Lipton M., (2009), Land Reform in Developing Countries, Routledge, 2009, chapter 2;

 Vollrath D., (2007), Land distribution and international agricultural productivity, American Journal of Agricultural  Economics, vol. 89, 202-216;

 Deininger K., (2011), Challenges posed by the new wave of farmland investment, Journal of Paesant Studies, vol. 38, 217-  247;

 De Schutter O., (2011), How not to think of land-grabbing: three critiques of large-scale investment in farmland,  Journal of Paesant Studies, vol. 38, 249-279;

 8. Inequality, poverty and access to water

 Power point presentation;

 Brown C., e Lall U., (2006), Water and economic development: the role of variability and a framework for resilience,  Natural Resources Forum, vol. 30, 306-317;

 Bhattarai M., Sakthivadiel R., e Hussain I., (2002), Irrigation impacts on income inequality and poverty alleviation:  policy issues and options for improved management of irrigation systems, Working Paper 39. Colombo, Sri Lanka:  International Water Management Institute;

 Hussain I., (2007), Poverty-reducing impacts of irrigation: evidence and lessons, Irrigation and Drainage, vol. 56, 147-  164;

 Ambec S., e Ehlers L., (2007), Cooperation and equity in river sharing problem, Working paper 6, Laboratoire d'Economie  Appliquée de Grenoble.

 9. Inequality and global warming

 Power point presentation;

 Grunewald N., et al. (2011), Income inequality and carbon emissions, Working paper 92.  Georg-August Universitat  Gottingen;

 Teng F. et al. (2011), How to measure carbon equity: carbon Gini index based on historical cumulative emission per  capita, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Nota di lavoro 31.

Piketty T. and Chancel (2013), Carbon and inequality. From Kyoto to Paris: trends in the global inequality of carbon emissions and prospects for an equitable adaptation fund, Paris School of Economics.

 

 

Teaching methods

The presentation of the main theories of distributive justice will be accompained by some case studies in which particular attention will be devoted to the variuos inequality generating mechanisms. For instance:  

·        how inequality within and between countries interact and generate global inequality;   

·        the role played by agrarian reforms in some countries (for instance South Korea, China) in reducing land access inequality;   

·        causes and consequences of land grabbing;   

·        link between land access, access to irrigation and inequality in poor countries;  

·        discussion of some case studies pertaining to inequality and access to transboundary water; 

·        GHG historical cumulated emissions and country responsibility;

·        link between income inequality, stage of development and CO2 emissions reduction across countries.

Assessment methods

The assessment involves two parts: a) a class simulation;  b) a written report on the simulation. The weight of the class simulation is 0.4; the weight of the report is 0,6.

For instance, the simulation may concern the draft of a cooperation treaty among countries along the Gange basin. Using the arguments developed in the course, the students must simulate a negotiation aimed at reaching an agreement on how to share costs and benefits of their cooperation on the transboundary river.   
Each student must then write a "technical covering report" in which the theoretical foundations and the empirical arguments used in the simulation must be explained. 

This assessment method is conditioned on the number of students; if the simulation is not viable, the assessment method is replaced by a paper (maximum 10 pages) on an assigned  topic.

Teaching tools

+ projector and pc;  + web pages of some international organizations (FAO, IFPRI, GRAIN, Land Matrix, OCDE).

Office hours

See the website of Giorgio Giovanni Negroni