93192 - Social Stratification And Economic Inequality

Learning outcomes

The course aims at introducing students to the most relevant conceptual and theoretical instruments for the study and analysis of social stratification and economic inequalities. The course aims act developing the following competences: General competences (Instrumental, Interpersonal and Systemic): Ability to analyze and synthesize different approaches to the study of inequality; A thorough understanding of basic conceptual framework of inequality research; Familiarity with measurement and methods of examining inequalities and poverty; The ability to conduct research on income and wealth inequality using micro-data; The ability to write well reasoned reflections in English on related topics; The ability to present orally. Specific competences: Ability to evaluate research on inequalities from sociology, demography and economics; Familiarity with state-of the-art research in the field.

Course contents

The course is organized as it follows: lectures (16 hours) introducing students to the core contents of the discipline. Data analysis exercises and thematic seminars (12 hours) aiming to provide occasions for in-depth discussions of class materials and exercises. During the data analysis exercises students will be working in (small) groups.

The course adopts a blended class approach, i.e. some classes will be held on line via MS Teams.

Students are required to carefully read the assigned material before each class and - in the case of seminars - active participation is expected.

The course will be organized in the following modules (of different duration):

(i) The philosophical debate on equality/inequality: in this section students will be introduced to some of the classic themes in the philosophical debate on inequality – this introduction will be essential to fully understand the normative implications of the different conceptions of inequality and its measurement.

(ii) K-concepts/debates in social stratification, e.g.: income and wealth inequality, economic poverty, social class, intergenerational mobility, inequality of educational opportunities and achievement.

(iii) The third part of the course will be devoted to acquire the basic knowledge and skills to study economic inequality and poverty, and social stratification and its intergenerational transmission. In this section we will learn how to do empirical analyses using R and R-Studio, and data sets such as SHIW, LIS, ESS, SHARE.

Students are required to attend *at least* 80% of the classes and deliver the two required take home exercises/essays to qualify as attending students. Active participation is strongly encouraged.

A detailed syllabus - with all the mandatory readings and the description of the take home exercises and essays - will be available on virtuale before the beginning of the classes (you can check last academic year schedule and syllabus to have a better idea of the course organization).

Readings/Bibliography

All materials will be available on virtuale.

A detailed syllabus - with all the mandatory readings and the description of the take home exercises and essays will be available on virtuale.

On virtuale you can check last academic year schedule, detailed syllabus and materials to have a better idea of the course organization.

Teaching methods

Face-to-face/on line lessons, practical exercises (with R and R-studio) and in-class presentations and discussions.

The course will use the platform virtuale.unibo.it, students are advised to register on the platform.

Assessment methods

ATTENDING STUDENTS (I.E. 80% ATTENDANCE + ACTIVE PARTICIPATION + 2 TAKE HOMES)

Students will be asked to write two short essays (2-4 pages max): (i) one essay discussing specific aspects of the philosophical bases of the study of inequalities and their measurements; (ii) a short empirical essay - including R code - providing a descriptive analysis of economic inequality/poverty levels/trends, or inter/intra generational mobility in selected countries. Each of these two papers will account for 15% of the final grade.

An additional 20% of the final grade will be based on the student's active participation in class discussions.

The remaining 50% of the final grade will be based on a final, empirical, paper on a topic to be agreed upon with the instructor (max 3000 words, plus references, tables and graphs). The paper will have to be delivered within 6 weeks after the end of the classes together with the R-script utilized in the analyses.

 

NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

Not attending students evaluation will be based on a final empirical paper (50%) and an oral exam (50%)
The short empirical paper (including R code) (1) must have a length of maximum 3000 words (plus tables, figures and references) (2) must be on a topic regarding social stratification and inequality, to be agreed *in advance* with the professor together with the data set to be used for the analyses; (3) should be sent via e.mail, together with the R script utilized for the analyses, to the Professor at least one week prior to the exam session.

Oral exam will be based on the compulsory readings (see syllabus and readings in the virtuale platform)

Teaching tools

Platform virtuale.unibo.it

Software: R and R Studio.

Various data sets (micro data): Bank of Italy SHIW; European Social Survey, Luxembourg Income/Wealth Study data, SHARE, etc.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Albertini