ECON 374
Poverty and Public Policy
Last Offered Spring 2017
Division II Writing Skills
This course is not offered in the current catalog

Since 1965, the annual poverty rate in the United States has hovered between 10% and 15%, though far more than 15% of Americans experience poverty at some point in their lives. In this course, we will study public policies that, explicitly or implicitly, have as a goal improving the well-being of the poor in this country. These policies include safety net programs (Aid to Families with Dependent Children/Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Food Stamps, Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program, and housing assistance), education programs (Head Start and public primary and secondary education), and parts of the tax code (the Earned Income Tax Credit). We will explore the design and functioning of these programs, focusing on questions economists typically ask when evaluating public policy: Does the policy achieve its goals? Does the design of the policy lead to unintended effects (either good or bad)? Could it be redesigned to achieve its goals in a more cost-effective manner? Through in-depth study of these programs, students will learn how economists bring theoretical models and empirical evidence to bear on important questions of public policy.