Policy in a Global Context

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Preventing and alleviating poverty is a key concern of governments and international organisations. Defining and measuring poverty is the first step towards developing and evaluating policies to tackle it effectively. Using real world examples, this inter-disciplinary module discusses not only the long-standing theories of poverty but also the newest developments and debates in measurement and policy, including the income replacement schemes introduced during the COVID-19 crisis. The first half of the module reviews different concepts and measures of poverty and discusses their implications for research, discourse and policy. The second half of the module focuses on the role of social protection systems in addressing poverty in different regions and contexts (e.g. Global North vs Global South).