Dimensions of Social and Economic Policy

Catalog description

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the most pressing social and economic policy challenges facing the United States and other middle- and high-income countries. Topics include inequality and economic mobility, education and human capital, labor markets and workforce development, immigration, health disparities, housing, criminal justice, the social safety net, trade and globalization, and climate policy. Each topic is examined through empirical and policy-oriented lenses that draw on perspectives from economics as well as from public health, sociology, political science, and public administration. The goal of the course is twofold. First, students develop a deep understanding of these issues and the complexities surrounding them — including the trade-offs, political constraints, and unintended consequences that make policy design so difficult. Second, students learn how policy professionals can leverage the research literature, large-scale data, and empirical methods to bring practical, evidence-based policy.