Advanced Certificate in Inequality Analysis

 

Program Description

Economic inequality is a key concern in economics and public policy. The rise in inequality that occurred during the 1970s and early 1980s stimulated interest in the study of its causes and consequences. The subsequent surge in globalization over the 1990s and early 2000s created a situation in which economic growth and prosperity no longer dramatically reduced economic inequality. The persistence of inequalities within nations and across nations demands innovative policy responses. From the World Bank to the United Nations to governments throughout the world, a greater understanding of wealth distribution is a necessary skill in todays policy landscape. To contribute to addressing this need, Central European University and Bard Colleges Levy Economics Institute are pairing in a joint Advanced Certificate in Inequality Analysis that will take place at the Levy Institute and CEUs Extension site in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Students obtain this certificate through a minimum of 12 credits in Masters level courses that leverage the combined expertise currently offered on both campuses. The certificate requires a minimum of 12 credits with the following distributions:

 

CEU-Bard Advanced Certificate

Courses will be offered by CEU and Bard faculty and to earn a certificate each student must take courses offered by each. To ensure curricular coherence, each student will be required to submit a program proposal and obtain approval for their program adviser.

 

Bard Colleges Levy Institute Highlights:

For nearly three decades, the Levy Institute has maintained an active research program on the distribution of earnings, income, and wealth. Research in this area includes studies on the economic well-being of the elderly, public and private pensions, well-being over the life course, the role of assets in economic well-being, and the determinants of the accumulation of wealth. This area of micro-based analysis is an important supplement to more macro-oriented offering of the Central European University for those interested in understanding poverty, inequality, income mobility and the related public policy concerns.

It is widely recognized that existing official measures of economic well-being need to be improved in order to generate accurate cross-sectional and intertemporal comparisons. The picture of economic well-being can vary significantly depending on the measure used. Alternative measures are also crucially important for the formulation and evaluation of a wide variety of social and economic policies. The Levy Institutes public policy contributions in this arena involves active research and includes two important measures to bridge the current gaps in measurement and actual well-being.

 

Learning Outcomes

  1. Familiarize students with analytic methods associated with inequality;
  2. Expose students to evidence of inequality in different environments from different perspectives;
  3. Prepare students to utilize analytic tools to understand issues of inequality.