DEVELOPMENT AND INEQUALITIES: THEORIES AND METHODS
Stampa
Enrollment year
2017/2018
Academic year
2017/2018
Regulations
DM270
Academic discipline
SECS-P/02 (POLITICA ECONOMICA)
Department
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Course
ECONOMICS, POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Curriculum
PERCORSO COMUNE
Year of study
Period
1st semester (02/10/2017 - 16/12/2017)
ECTS
12
Lesson hours
80 lesson hours
Language
Italian
Activity type
ORAL TEST
Teacher
CHIAPPERO ENRICA (titolare) - 6 ECTS
SCERVINI FRANCESCO - 6 ECTS
Prerequisites
Students need basic statistical concepts (central tendency and variability measures, statistical samples, random variables, frequency distributions). For those who do not have these basic competencies, specific readings will be suggested.
Learning outcomes
What are the dimensions of inequality and poverty on a global scale? And what relationships do these phenomena have with growth and development of a country or region? How do we measure poverty and inequality? What are the factors that determine or affect inequalities and poverty and what kind of actions can be put in place to contrast them?
These are the themes we will address in this course, discussing conceptual and theoretical aspects, analyzing measurement problems, critically examining statistical and empirical evidence on these phenomena, studying and making use of statistical and econometric analysis tools.
Course contents
Theories:
Global Trends and Global Strategies
1. Inequality, Globalization and Economic Growth
2. The growth-poverty-inequality nexus
3. Global Inequalities
4. Global Poverty
5. Economic Growth and Human Development
6. 2030 Agenda and SDGs
7. The World Bank's twin goals: eliminate extreme poverty and share prosperity

Measuring poverty and inequality
1. Some preliminary issues: indicators, unit of analysis, etc
2. Concepts and measures of poverty: absolute-relative, one-multidimensional, objective-subjective, poverty indexes and their characteristics
3. Inequalities and measures of inequality: absolute-relative, one-multidimensional, inequality indexes and their characteristics
Methods
Methods:
Introduction to Econometrics
1. Introduction to Econometrics and basic concepts
2. Preliminary notions
3. The univariate regression model
4. Multivariate regression model
5. Confidence intervals and hypothesis tests
6. Selection of regressors and residual analysis
7. Qualitative information: categorical and binary variables

Empirical analysis: themes and problems
1. Poverty and inequality in developing countries
2. Poverty, inequality and growth
3. Inequality and Education
4. Inequality and Health
5. Inequality and Democracy
Teaching methods
The course is ideally structured in two integrated parts aimed respectively to examine theories and methods. In the first part of the course, students will learn concepts and theories related to economic development and human development, inequality, poverty and their relationships. Meanwhile, the basic concepts of econometrics will be introduced and applied in the laboratory using the econometric software STATA.
In the second part of the course, several empirical works carried out in this field of study will be critically analysed and discussed, in light of the concepts and methods learned in the first part, and some econometric analysis on micro data and aggregated data will be done.
Reccomended or required readings
Given the content of the teaching and the nature of the EPII study course, almost all teaching materials are in English. The interactive teaching platform KIRO http://elearning2.unipv.it/scipol/ will make available all the teaching materials used during the lessons (powerpoint presentations, compulsory and supplementary readings, useful links, etc.). You can access to KIRO by means of username and password. In case of any difficulties, please contact the Technical support (tecnici.dsps@unipv.it).

Theories:
Given the contents and nature of this course, there is not a single textbook: rather, scientific articles and international reports will be used and made available on the KIRO platform before the lessons begin.

Methods:
The lecturer's teaching material is sufficient for the preparation of the exam, provided that students actively and regularly attend to the lessons.
A reference text is "Wooldridge J.M., Introductory Econometrics. A Modern Approach, 5th edition, Cengage, 2012 ", but any other basic Econometrics textbook can be used. However, students are not required to purchase any text before the course begins.
The STATA software is available in the computer lab (Aula 7); the teacher along the course will provide several databases or make them available online together with any other relevant documentation used in the lab and needed for the exam.
Guidance on any further readings and textbooks for students who will not be regularly attending the lectures, or who wish to deepen some aspects, will be suggested and uploaded, if available in electronic format, on the KIRO platform.
Assessment methods
For students who attend the course regularly, the exam will be based on integrated assessment methods: a written test, a practical test in the laboratory, classroom presentations and group work, an optional supplementary oral test.
For students who do not attend the course the exam will be written.
Further information
Sustainable development goals - Agenda 2030