32701

SoSe 16: Introduction to Inequality in American Economic History

Julia Püschel

Comments

Over the last three decades, the rise of income inequality in the United States has been one of the most important economic phenomena of the post-World War II period. This course introduces students to the theoretical and empirical determinants of inequality in American history from colonial times to nowadays. In the first part of the course, we will investigate the extent of inequality and why and how it has changed over time. Institutional factors, such as the minimum wage, and their impact on the development of inequality will be analyzed. The second part of the course will focus on specific dimensions of inequality. These include the returns to educational attainments, inequality of opportunities, the development of the top of the income distribution, and how inequality manifests itself along the dimensions of race and gender. There will be no exam for this course. Your grade will depend on a research project on a topic of your choice (submit a paper of 4,500 to 6,000 words). I will drop any student who is enrolled at the beginning of the semester and who misses more than one of the first five classes, April 19, 26, May 10, 17, and 24. close