Poverty-Related Courses Taught by IRP Affiliates

IRP affiliates at the University of Wisconsin–Madison teach a range of undergraduate and graduate poverty-related courses. A sampling of courses is provided below. The following list is provided as an example of course offerings; not all courses are available every semester or year. Please consult the UW–Madison timetable for current course listings.

Current Economics Issues and Policy: Economics 100
Christopher Taber, Professor of Economics

This course emphasizes current issues in economic and social policy and illustrates how the economist’s perspective helps to understand these issues. The objective is to enhance economic literacy by presenting the basic tools of the discipline and applying them to current issues.

Population Problems: Sociology 170
Jenna Nobles, Assistant Professor of Sociology

This course covers the social, economic, and political problems affected by birth and death rates, population size and distribution, and voluntary and forced migration. Also covered are world ecology, limits to growth, economic development, international conflict, environmental quality, metropolitan expansion, and segregation by age, race, and wealth. Policies affecting reproduction, nuptiality, morbidity, mortality, migration are examined. 

Wages and the Labor Market: Economics 450
Chao Fu, Assistant Professor of Economics

The purpose of the course is to develop an understanding of the labor market’s role in allocating human resources and determining earned income. The effects of labor market performance on household income and welfare are also emphasized. Topics include the determinants of labor supply and demand, wage and employment determination, the distribution of labor income, occupational and educational choice, mobility, wage differentials and dispersion, and unemployment. The effects of labor market policies on each of these are also studied.

Sociology of the Family: Sociology 640
Marcia Carlson, Associate Professor of Sociology

This course examines the nature of and change in family life from a sociological perspective, while incorporating insights from other fields, including demography, psychology, and economics. A key underlying theme of the course is how inequality is intertwined with patterns of family change. Contemporary debates and issues are explored, with emphasis on research evidence and considering potential implications for public policy.

Child Abuse and Neglect: Social Work 646
Kristen Shook Slack, Associate Professor of Social Work

The course is concerned with physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children, child neglect, and exploitation. Students will be exposed to conceptual, theoretical, and state-of-the-art empirical literature on the causes and consequences of different forms of child maltreatment; historical and current perspectives on intervention; system- and family-level prevention models; policies that affect maltreatment rates; cultural issues; and issues unique to particular subgroups (e.g., families in poverty).

Public Finance and Fiscal Policy: Economics 741
John Karl Scholz, Professor of Economics

This course examines the literature in several applied, empirical areas of public economics, focusing particularly on tax and expenditure policy. The purpose of this course is to gain an understanding of the literature and to develop insight into current research issues in the field.

Introduction to Statistical Methods for Public Policy Analysis: Public Affairs 818
Geoffrey Wallace, Associate Professor of Public Affairs

This course provides an introduction to the statistical methods used in public policy. The course will cover the basics of probability, statistics, and quantitative methods in public policy analysis. The course stresses interpretation and presentation of data as well as theory.

Public Affairs Professional Development Workshop: Public Affairs 800
Donald Moynihan, Associate Professor of Public Affairs

This public affairs career development seminar includes sessions on professional writing, presentations, and job search skills training for students interested in finding jobs. A significant element of the seminar will be presentations from practitioners from the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Comparative and National Social Policy: Public Affairs 974
Timothy Smeeding, Letters & Science Distinguished Professor of Public Affairs

This course is designed to provide an overview of comparative cross-national social policy and the American system of public policy toward human resources. The other nations include the rich OECD nations as well as emerging middle income countries in Asia and Latin America. We will segment social welfare policy into three major branches: health, education and welfare (income security policy).