ECON 2400 The Economics of Identity, Inequality, Poverty, and Discrimination

Understanding social identities and their intersections with inequalities is essential for addressing systemic injustices. It requires critically analyzing how cultural contexts shape experiences and how economic disparities further entrench social inequities. This course will explore how social identities are formed and how they are intertwined with different aspects of identity, such as race, gender, class, sexual orientation, and disabilities, and how this interconnection creates unique experiences of privilege, discrimination, and oppression and generates economic inequalities. Understanding these dynamics is crucial in addressing persistent economic inequities across different demographic groups. This course will help students develop the economic tools to better assess how identity, poverty, and discrimination can create inequality and social injustice. The course examines how economic policies such as fiscal, monetary, trade, and labor policies impact inequality, poverty, and discrimination. The focus will be on how supply and demand, profit maximization, unemployment, inflation, economic growth, globalization, trade, and labor policies impact different socio-economic groups. The course will examine the current and historical role of access to jobs, education, healthcare, and housing in reducing or increasing equality and inclusion. The course will analyze alternative policies that can be used to reduce income and wealth inequalities, generate economic opportunities, and promote a sense of belonging and social justice.

UCC Area K (Identities & Inequalities) Course Objectives: Explore and critically analyze social identities and inequalities, their intersectionalities, and the impacts of persisting inequities across cultural contexts.

Credits: 3.0