POLS 4635 THE POLITICS OF INCOME INEQUALITY

Spring Semester AY2015-2016
Department of Political Science
University of Georgia
Athens, GA, 30602-1615

Classroom: Room 250, Park Hall
Time: 3:30 - 4:45PM Tuesday, Thursday

Instructor: Keith T. Poole

Office: Room 304D Baldwin Hall
E-Mail: [email protected]
WebSite: Voteview Home Page

Office Hours: By Appointment

The following texts will be used in this course:

• The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 27 No. 3 (Summer 2013)
  
• Joseph E. Stiglitz. 2013. The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future (2nd Edition)
  
• Timothy Noah. 2012. The Great Divergence
  
• How did the Democrats Become Favorites of the Rich, Thomas B. Edsell, New York Times, 7 October 2015.
  
• Income Distribution Over Time
  
• "The American Middle Class is Losing Ground." Pew Research Center, 9 December 2015. (Backed up on voteview.com: Pew Report)
  

Requirements

Grades will be determined by three examinations -- two mid-semester exams and a final exam. The exams will consist of short answer essay questions. The midterms will be worth ¼ each and the final 1/2 of the course grade.

The first exam is scheduled for Thursday, 11 February 2016, 3:30 - 4:30PM.
The second exam is scheduled for Thursday, 31 March 2016, 3:30 - 4:30PM.
The final is scheduled for 5 May 2016, 3:30 - 5:30PM.

Course Outline

1. Congressional Polarization
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • "Measuring Ideology"
     
   • "The Decline and Rise of Party Polarization in Congress During the Twentieth Century."Extensions, Fall 2005.
     
   • "The Roots of the Polarization of Modern U. S. Politics."Revista de Ciencia Politica, December, 2008.
     
   • Growing Apart: The Mathematical Evidence for Congress' Growing Polarization, by Jordan Ellenberg
     (Note that the links to voteview.uh.edu should be pooleandrosenthal.com. The pages are still on the website.)
     
     Brief Overview of the State of Income Inequality (PowerPoint)
     IRS Tax Tables Page
     Public Debt Statements
     CBO: Summary of the Budget and Economic Outlook: 2016 to 2026
     Measuring Ideology (PowerPoint)
   
   
2. The Basics of Income Inequality in the US since the end of World War II
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • The Price of Inequality, pages ix - lxiv
     
   • The Great Divergence, Introduction and Chapters 1, 2 and 3
     
   • JEP, "The Top 1 Percent in International and Historical Prespective"
     
   • JEP, "Defending the 1 Percent"
     
     Civil Rights and the Realignment of the South (PowerPoint)
     Noah Chapters 1-3 and Stiglitz Introduction (PowerPoint)
     JEP Papers 1 and 2 (PowerPoint)
     
     SOURCES:
     
     Federal Reserve Bulletin: "Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2010 to 2013: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances."
     Rutgers: John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development: "Unfulfilled Expectations: Recent College Graduates Struggle in a Troubled Economy."
     Institute for Women's Policy Research: "The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation 2013 and by Race and Ethnicity."
     "The American High School Graduation Rate: Trends and Levels." James J. Heckman and Paul A. LaFontaine, Discussion Paper 3216, December 2007, Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn, Germany
     "Skill Gaps, Skill Shortages and Skill Mismatches: Evidence for the U.S.", Peter Cappelli, NBER WP20382, August 2014
     "Polanyi's Paradox and the Shape of Employment Growth." David H. Autor, MIT.
     "Trends in Educational Assortative Marriage From 1940 to 2003." Christine R. Schwartz and Robert D. Mare, California Center for Population Research, UCLA
     "Consumer Bankruptcy Filings: Trends and Indicators." Charles J. Tabb, Illinois Law and Economics WP Series No. LE06-023, University of Illinois College of Law.
     
     
   First Exam Study Questions
   
   
3. The Financial Crisis of 2007-08 and the Great Recession
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • The Price of Inequality, Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4
     
     
     Stigliz and "Rent Seeking" (PowerPoint)
     The Financial Crisis of 2007-08, Part 1 (PowerPoint)
     The Financial Crisis of 2007-08, Part 2 (PowerPoint)
     The Financial Crisis of 2007-08, Part 3 (PowerPoint)
     
4. Is Immigration to Blame?
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • The Great Divergence, Chapter 4
     • 
       Inequality and Immigration (PowerPoint)
       
5. Education, Job Skills, and Globalization
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • The Price of Inequality, Chapters 5, 6, and 7
     
   • The Great Divergence, Chapters 5 and 6
     
   • JEP, "It's the Market: The Broad-Based Rise in the Return to Top Talent."
     
   • JEP, "The Pay of Corporate Executives and Financial Professionals as Evidence of Rents in Top 1 Percent Incomes."
     
   • JEP, "Income Inequality, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility."
     
   • The Evolving Structure of the American Economy and the Employment Challenge, Michael Spence and Sandile Hlatshwayo, 2011, Council on Foreign Relations
     
     
6. Money, Organized Interests, and American Politics
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • The Price of Inequality, Chapters 5, 6, and 7
     
   • The Great Divergence, Chapters 7 and 8
     
   • JEP, "Why Hasn't Democracy Slowed Rising Inequality?"
     
     
7. Citizen Affluence and Public Policy
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • The Price of Inequality, Chapters 8, and 9
     
   • The Great Divergence, Chapter 9
     
   • "Wealth Inequality in the United States Since 1913: Evidence From Capitalized Income Tax Data."NBER Working Paper 20625, October 2014.
     
     
8. The Public Policy Consequences of Polarization and Inequality
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • The Price of Inequality, Chapter 10
     
   • The Great Divergence, Chapters 10, 11, and Afterword
     
   • "Income Inequality and Political Polarization: Time Series Evidence Over Nine Decades."Review of Income and Wealth (forthcoming)
     
     

Site Links

VOTEVIEW Blog
NOMINATE Data, Roll Call Data, and Software
Course Web Pages: University of Georgia (2010 - )
Course Web Pages: UC San Diego (2004 - 2010)
University of San Diego Law School (2005)
Course Web Pages: University of Houston (2000 - 2005)
Course Web Pages: Carnegie-Mellon University (1997 - 2000)
Analyzing Spatial Models of Choice and Judgment with R
Spatial Models of Parliamentary Voting
Recent Working Papers
Analyses of Recent Politics
About This Website
K7MOA Log Books: 1960 - 2016
Bio of Keith T. Poole
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