42614 - ECONOMIA DELLA DISUGUAGLIANZA

Academic Year 2021/2022

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Economics, Markets and Institutions (cod. 8038)

Learning outcomes

Students will be able to understand different problems about inequality measurement and policy-relevant issues with conceptual analysis and empirical evidence.

Course contents

The course aims to address the issue of inequality from a measurement and policy perspective. We will deal with a series of topics in this field, capturing aspects related to both measurement and empirical evaluations with a series of case studies helpful in understanding the phenomenon in its different facets;

We will discuss some issues related to the inequality measurement, trying to understand the role of the government as a regulator of disparities in markets. We will study the main tools that economists adopt to study this phenomenon and the potential interventions in recent years to fight inequality and poverty in society.

We will look at the relatively latest Italian data related to educational processes (with particular attention to University) or the social impact of stability funds through PNRR. The view of the data and how to treat them will help explain how economists think, the theories to rely on, and the consequent estimation methods to measure the causalities of phenomena and related identification problems.

Readings/Bibliography

References. All updated information will be communicated during the first lessons.

 

Some references (Italian/English) – just for curiosity:

  • Baldini M. e S. Toso (2009), Diseguaglianza, povertà e politiche pubbliche, (capitoli 1-2), Il Mulino
  • Inequality, J. Galbraith (2016), Inequality – What everyone needs to know, (capitoli 1-5), Oxford University Press
  • Franzini M. (2018), Disuguaglianze inaccettabili – l’immobilità economica in Italia, Laterza Editore
  • Gentili, A. e G. Pignataro (2021), Disuguaglianza e istruzione in Italia, (capitoli 4-5), Carocci Editore.

Teaching methods

The teaching method includes lectures and interactions between (subgroups of) students. It will be crucial to attend as many lessons as possible due to the particular topics covered during the lessons. Lessons will be in Italian.

Assessment methods

Assessments: a written test that includes multiple choices and open questions, a paper (3000 words) with the presentation at the end of the course. The latter depends on the number of attending students.

Teaching tools

During the course, the teacher will provide additional material to complete the theoretical lessons.

Links to further information

https://www.giuseppepignataro.info

Office hours

See the website of Giuseppe Pignataro

SDGs

No poverty Gender equality Reduced inequalities Peace, justice and strong institutions

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.