Christina Paxson & David Weil

ECON 0390
Fall 2018

The course begins with issues of measurement and definition. We then turn to examine the economic underpinnings of inequality, including the relationship between education, skill, and income; the intergenerational transmission of wealth and economic status; and the causal relationship between health and income. The third part of the course looks at the driving forces behind the large rise in inequality that has occurred since roughly 1980 as well as differential trends in life expectancy and health behaviors among income groups over this period. The last section examines government policies that impact inequality and the political economy of redistribution.

What is the relationship between inequality and differences in life expectancy?