Income Inequality, Poverty, and Economic Justice

Summary measures of income distribution and their implicit value judgments. The link between trends in relative inequality in incomes and differences in wages, earnings, and labor supply. The impact of personal characteristics, institutions, and macroeconomic trends on earnings. Discussion of the pervasiveness of poverty, its causes and public policy measures for its alleviation. Economic and philosophical aspects of an equitable and just distribution of income. Prerequisite: Economics 11 and Economics 13 (or Economics 14).