¿­ÐýÃŹÙÍø

Course Description

Summary

Poverty describes the state of deprivation when people cannot meet a minimum desirable standard of living, and vulnerability can be seen as the risk of poverty in a population. In this seminar, we will explore the nature and causes of poverty and vulnerability that we witness around the world, especially after a moment of economic shock and crisis. We will also discuss what makes the conditions of poverty and vulnerability unjust or unfair, and how the conditions should be addressed. The course has two requirements: [a] Class participation based on deep reading of assigned materials, and [b] a research project and related homework assignments. [You should not miss a class. Before coming to class, you must engage carefully with the assigned materials, and you must participate seriously in class discussions. Also, as a research project for the class, we will carry out empirical analysis of an issue dealing with economic growth and economic crisis for your studied country.] This is an advanced-level research seminar designed for students in their third and fourth years of college. Students in their second year may also join in with the prior approval of the instructor. We will explore the key concepts in the course verbally and through written expositions, and use mathematical formulations to express the ideas in formal terms. The course will involve a close analysis of household survey datasets. We will make use of the empirical findings to provide evidential support to our arguments. For this, some familiarity with spreadsheet analyses of data is expected. Some prior knowledge of statistical theory/applications will be advantageous. The course will be taught through synchronous meetings each week to be attended by all students in the class for lectures, data workshops, class discussions and collective sharing of ideas. There will be occasional remote classes held online together with the more-frequent in-person meetings. There may also be occasional asynchronous group tutorial meetings [normally between four or five students and the course instructor] based around conversations on students' work and research questions.