Results for CSI::poverty

This course will cover basic hydraulics and the fundamental processes used to provide and control water, and will introduce the basics of engineering design. In addition to understanding the details behind the fundamental processes, students will learn to feel comfortable developing initial design criteria (30% designs) for fundamental processes. Students should also develop a feel for the typical values of water treatment parameters and the equipment involved. The course should enable students to work competently in environmental engineering firms or on non-profit projects in the developing world such as Engineers without Borders. Pre-requisite: Chem31B/X.

The microeconomic problems and policy concerns of less developed countries. Topics include: health and education; risk and insurance; microfinance; agriculture; technology; governance. Emphasis is on economic models and empirical evidence. Prerequisites: 51, 102B.

This course is the first of a three-course graduate sequence on the economic issues of less developed countries. Topics include institutions and governance; agricultural productivity; productivity effects of health; private and social returns to education; household behavior.nPrerequisites: 202 or 202N, 270.

In this course, students will use data from the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA) to study the patterns, causes, consequences, and remedies of educational inequality in the US. SEDA is based on 200 million test score records, administrative data, and census data from every public school, school district, and community in the US. The course will include lectures, discussion, and small group research projects using SEDA and other data.

Open to medical students, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Examines the major famines of modern history, the controversies surrounding them, and the reasons that famine persists in our increasingly globalized world. Focus is on the relative importance of natural, economic, and political factors as causes of famine in the modern world. Case studies include the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s; the Bengal famine of 1943-44; the Soviet famines of 1921-22 and 1932-33; China's Great Famine of 1959-61; the Ethiopian famines of the 1970s and 80s, and the Somalia famines of the 1990s and of 2011.

This class will analyze the growth in inequality in the US over the last several decades and how that trend is likely to continue or change in the future. We will ask if and how public policy can affect inequality. We will also focus on business's role -- what are the responsibilities of private sector companies, how does inequality affect them, and how should the growth in inequality affect their strategies? We will look at inequality in income, some of its potential sources, and its effects in other areas. Specifically, we will look at education, housing, the social safety net, migration, and the job market. The class will be very interactive and will be based on readings drawn from academic research, case studies, news, and opinion readings. We will also have guest speakers from industry, government, and non-profits. The class will be co-taught by a GSB labor economist and an advisor to policy makers with decades of business experience.nnLOGISTICAL NOTE: The class will not meet on May 23 or May 25. Instead, there will be a mandatory, all-day class field trip to explore inequality issues in depth and in person on Wednesday, May 24. If you have an academic-related reason you cannot make the trip, we will assign alternative work. However, the trip is required unless you have a conflicting class or academic obligation.

Poverty rates have fallen markedly in countries around the world, as more households have joined the lower middle-class. Indeed, though U.S. income inequality has increased, inequality has fallen around the world. However, by developed country standards, poverty remains pervasive. What has caused the decline in rates of poverty and can we expect further decreases or can we act to accelerate the improvements? One answer is that countries that have experienced “inclusive growth”, in which the growth of the economy (i.e., GDP) has elevated the incomes of the poor, have done better at creating jobs for the poor, especially in the private sector. Therefore, the class will consider the evidence on the factors that have contributed to inclusive economic growth in developing countries. A second answer as to why poverty has fallen, but remains at high levels, is that governments and aid agencies and foundations have targeted programs to the poor. This course discusses macroeconomic policy, targeted government policies, aid, and entrepreneurship in developing countries. Examples will be given from Latin America, South Asia, and Africa. The course is co-taught by a Stanford economist and a World Bank consultant and will build on examples from recent experiences. The class is aimed at GSB students who are either intellectually curious about the topic or anticipate doing business in developing countries.

Over the last three decades, inequality in America has increased substantially. Why has this happened, and what can be done about it? The course will begin by surveying the basic features of poverty, inequality, and economic mobility in the 21st century. From here we will discuss issues related to discrimination, education and schools, criminal justice, and the changing nature of the family as forces that shape inequality. We will also focus on the main social policy options for addressing inequality in the United States, including income support for the poor, taxing higher incomes, efforts to encourage philanthropy, and other institutional reforms.

Current theories and research, recent publications, and presentations of ongoing research by faculty and students. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.