Inequality and the Social Safety Net: Theory, Empirics, and Policies

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course will introduce students to key economic and conceptual issues surrounding inequality and the social safety net. We will study the theoretical underpinnings and empirical analysis of the social safety net, focusing on the effects of social insurance and public assistance programs on individual and societal outcomes. After studying models of the insurance-incentive tradeoff, we will apply these models and econometric strategies to the empirical analysis of social safety net programs. We will study how social safety net programs interact with labor markets, specifically human capital investment and work decisions, and how they affect long-term outcomes such as income, health, well-being, and inequality. Students will learn how to analyze the tradeoffs involved in social safety net programs and will learn the current state of evidence on these programs.