Undergraduate 

Economics MA(SocSci)/BAcc/BSc/MA

Contemporary Issues in Inequality ECON4032

  • Academic Session: 2024-25
  • School: Adam Smith Business School
  • Credits: 15
  • Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No

Short Description

This course will explore the definition, measurement, causes and consequences of inequality in both high income and low/middle income countries.

Timetable

■ On-campus lectures: 10 x 2-hours

■ Seminars: 2 x 2 hours

■ Asynchronous activities 20 hours: Asynchronous activities will be integrated to support student engagement with course material and preparation of assessments. Examples of such activities are online discussion forums, readings from articles and other relevant sources and reflective journals or blogs.

Excluded Courses

None.

Assessment

ILO (covered)

Assessment

Weighting

Word Length/Duration

1-5

Written Assessment 

30%

1000 words

Main Assessment In: April/May

Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? Not applicable

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

Course Aims

The aims of this course are as follows:

■ To review the various definitions and approaches to measurement of economic inequality and poverty.

■ To consider the patterns of inequalities between different countries and over time.

■ To examine a variety of causes of inequality within different subgroups of the population.

■ To examine the empirical evidence in relation to the causes of inequality.

■ To assess the effectiveness of policy measures aimed at reducing inequality and poverty with a particular focus on current approaches.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students should be able to:

1. Critically assess the various definitions of inequality and poverty.

2. Critically analyse the different patterns of inequalities in the UK; between the UK and other countries and over time.

3. Critically assess the literature on the causes of inequality.

4. Describe, explain and critically evaluate the empirical evidence in relation to the causes of inequality.

5. Describe, explain and critically evaluate any policy measures aimed at reducing poverty and inequality.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

None.