COURSE DETAILS

Course Title & Number:

Number of Credit Hours:

ECON 2610: Special Topics in Economics Income Distribution

Three (3) Credit hours

Course Description
This course introduces students to how income, and its accumulation as wealth, is distributed
between individuals, as well as between classes of economic actors. We will review how
income inequality, wealth and poverty are measured, and what trends have emerged over
time. We will examine the impact of redistributive policies undertaken by governments, and
how various approaches to economic analysis address the causes of income inequality and the
implications of redistribution.
This course will draw selectively upon various approaches in economics including labour
economics, economic history, behavioural economics, and political economy. We will examine
empirical data and theoretical constructs regarding what explains the distribution of income.
We will also review normative conceptions as to what an idealized distribution of income
should be.
If you want to learn as much as you can from this course, you will need to do the readings,
attend and participate in all classes, and complete the assignments. I am available to meet
outside of class to assist you.
The format of our classes will vary depending on the number of students and the questions
were dealing with, but your class participation will always be important. In order to get the
most out of time in class, I recommend that you: a) read the required readings before class, b)
think about how ideas in the readings are connected to the topic, c) make note of any questions
you have, and d) bring your questions up in class.

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Textbook, Readings, Materials

Required course texts:
Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the 21st century (A. Goldhammer Trans.). Cambridge:
Harvard University Press.
Additional required readings will be available in electronic format via UM Learn or accessible
through the Elizabeth Dafoe Library. For an introduction to UM Learn, log-in and select:
Support > Help > Campus > Learners-Campus > Getting started

Class Schedule
Below is a planned schedule of topics and preliminary readings. Some topics will take longer to
cover than others. The order of the topics may be rearranged, and some topics may be dropped
based on time constraints. Required readings may also be adjusted. Please check the course
UM Learn website and your University of Manitoba e-mail account regularly.
1. Introduction
Conference Board of Canada (2014a)
Conference Board of Canada (2014b)
Campano and Salvatore (2006, pp.3-13)
2. The History of Growth and Distribution
Piketty (Ch.1, pp. 39-55, 59-71)
Piketty (Ch.2, pp.72-103, 106-109)
3. Wealth Accumulation: Measurement, Composition and Trends
Piketty (Ch.3, pp.116-120, 122-125, 131-139)
Piketty (Ch. 4, pp.146-163)
Piketty (Ch. 5, 164-191,195-198)
4. The Functional Distribution: Capital and Labour Shares of National Income
Piketty (Ch.6)
Glyn (2009)
Atkinson and Bourguignon (2000, pp.5-9)
5. Measuring Inequality
Cowell (Ch. 1, pp.1-2, 4-16)
Cowell (Ch. 2)
Piketty (Ch.7)
6. Income Inequality: Case Studies: Canada, France and the United States
Piketty (Ch. 8)
Heisz (2016, pp.77-89)

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7. Labour Income Inequality

Piketty (Ch. 9)
Heisz (2016, pp.91-94)
Atkinson and Bourguignon (2000, pp. 9-11)
OECD (2012)
8. Inequality of Capital Ownership
Piketty (Ch.10)
9. Poverty and Income Mobility
Piketty (Ch.11)
Corak (2013)
Durlauf (2006)
Kraay and McKenzie (2014)
Heisz (2016, pp. 89-91, 94-99)
10. The Role of Public Policy
Piketty (Ch.13-15)
Piketty (Conclusion, pp.571-577)
Bowles (2012, Ch.1, pp.1-33)
Foley and Green (2016)
Heisz (2016, pp.91-94)
Heisz and Murphy (2016)
Hudson (2011)

Course Evaluation Methods

Assessment Tool
Midterm Test
Assignment: Country Profile
Final Exam

Evaluation and Grading

Grades:

A+
A
B+
B

90-100%
80-89%
75-79%
70-74%

C+
C
D
F

65-69%
60-64%
50-59%
0-49%

Value of
Final Grade
35%
25%
40%

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Please note:
1. Evaluative feedback will be provided prior to the voluntary withdrawal date
2. Students will not be permitted to write make-up tests or make-up missed assignments
without documented medical or compassionate reasons.
3. Students should acquaint themselves with the University's policy on plagiarism, cheating,
exam impersonation, and duplicate submission by reading documentation provided at the
Arts Student Resources web site at:
http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/student/student_responsibilities.html
4. Ignorance of the regulations and policies regarding academic integrity is not a valid excuse
for violating them. If you have any questions about this, please speak to me.
5. Students appealing any term work (formally or informally) must do so within 10 working
days of receiving their mark.
6. All final grades are subject to departmental review.
7. Students are responsible for all material covered in class.
8. Any term work will be held for four months from the end of the final examination period for
the term in which the work was assigned. At the conclusion of this time, all unclaimed term
work will be destroyed according to FIPPA guidelines.
Penalties for Academic Dishonesty:
The common penalty in Arts for plagiarism on a written assignment is a grade of F on the paper
and a final grade of F (DISC) (for disciplinary action) for the course. For the most serious acts of
plagiarism, such as purchase of an essay and repeat violations, this penalty can also include
suspension for a period of up to five (5) years from registration in courses taught in a particular
department/program in Arts or from all courses taught in this Faculty. The Faculty also reserves
the right to submit student work that is suspected of being plagiarized to Internet sites
designed to detect plagiarism or to other experts for authentication.
The common penalty in Arts for academic dishonesty on a test or examination is F for the
paper, F (DISC) for the course, and a one-year suspension from courses acceptable for credit in
the Faculty. For more serious acts of academic dishonesty on a test or examination, such as
repeat violations, this penalty can also include suspension for a period of up to five years from
registration in courses taught in a particular department or program in Arts or from all courses
taught in or accepted for credit by this Faculty.

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Assignment: Country Profile

The goal of this assignment is to help you learn how to find and compare data on income
inequality and wealth, and communicate that information efficiently in a written format.
Students will be required to select a country from a sign-up list that will be set up by the
instructor. Do not begin your project until you have confirmed your country with the
instructor.
1. Search for and download data for your selected country, and Canada OR the United States,
for 1970-2015, for the following measures:
a. Capital-income ratio, using the net private wealth % of national income measure.
b. Income inequality, using on of the Top 1% income share measures.
c. Gini Coefficient.
*Note that data may not be available for every year for each variable.
*Be sure you reference your data sources and include them in your reference list.
2. Using Microsoft Excel, generate a separate line graph for each variable (3 separate line
graphs, 2 countries each). Be sure to label all the variables and axes, and to add titles to
your tables.
3. Write a short paper that compares your country with either the United States or Canada
(whichever you chose). Your paper should have the following sections:
Section 1: Introduction
The paper should begin with an introduction that briefly explains what the paper is
about and summarizes your findings.
Section 2: Main Body
This is where you define your variables, discuss your findings for each variable, and
present your data in line graph format. How would you classify your country with
respect to its level of inequality? Explain.
Section 3: Conclusion
The final section of paper should end with a conclusion that briefly summarizes the main
arguments you have made in the paper.
Section 4: References
Include a reference list according to APA format. The only sources you need to complete
this assignment are the data sources, but if you consult and use information from other
sources, including readings for the course, you must cite them correctly.

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The paper will also be graded partially based on correct APA formatting (cover page, intext citations, etc.) and how clearly you communicate your ideas (this includes writing
quality, spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc.).

Assignment Referencing Style

My preference is that assignments use the American Psychological Association (APA) reference
style. See https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ for a useful style guide. If you
prefer to use a different established academic referencing system, please contact me to
discuss.
Do not plagiarize: be sure to cite the sources of ideas that are not your own as well as direct
quotations of words that are not your own. There is helpful information about plagiarism on
this page on the library website:
http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/dafoe/media/plagiarism.pdf

Assignment Extension and Late Submission Policy

Late assignments will be penalized at a rate of 2% per day. The penalty will be waived in the
case of documented serious illness or personal emergency (such as the death or serious illness
of a close family member). To request the extension of a due date, contact me.

Writing and Learning Support

The Academic Learning Centre (ALC) offers services that may be helpful to you throughout your
academic program, including support with time management, learning strategies, and testtaking strategies. You can also meet one-to-one with a writing tutor who can give you feedback
at any stage of the writing process. These Academic Learning Centre services are free for U of M
students. For more information, please visit the Academic Learning Centre website at:
http://umanitoba.ca/student/academiclearning/

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References
Atkinson, A. B., & Bourguignon, F. (2000). Introduction: Income distribution and economics. In
A. B. Atkinson, & F. Bourguignon (Eds.), Handbook of income distribution (1st ed., pp. 1-58).
Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Bowles, S. (2012). The new economics of inequality and redistribution. (pp. 1-33). New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Campano, F., & Salvatore, D. (2006). Income distribution. New York: Oxford University Press.
Campano, F., & Salvatore, D. (2006). Introduction. Income Distribution (pp. 1-13). New York:
Oxford University Press.
Conference Board of Canada. (2015). How Canada performs: Inequality. Retrieved from
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/society/income-inequality.aspx
Conference Board of Canada. (2015). How Canada performs: Working-age poverty. Retrieved
from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/society/working-age-poverty.aspx
Cowell, F. (2011). Measuring inequality (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Durlauf, S. N. (2006). Groups, social influences, and inequality. In S. Bowles, S. N. Durlauf & K.
Hoff (Eds.), Poverty traps (pp. 141-175). Princeton: Princeton UP / Russel Sage Foundation.
Foley, K., & Green, D. A. (2016). Why more education will not solve rising inequality (and may
make it worse). In D. A. Green, W. C. Riddell & F. St-Hilaire (Eds.), Income inequality: The
Canadian story (pp. 347-398). Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy. Retrieved
from http://irpp.org/research-studies/aots5-foley-green/
Glyn, A. (2011). Functional distribution and inequality. In W. Salverda, B. T. Nolan & T. M.
Smeeding (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of economic inequality (pp. 101-126). Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Heisz, A. (2016). Trends in income inequality in Canada and elsewhere. In D. A. Green, W. C.
Riddell & F. St-Hilaire (Eds.), Income inequality: The Canadian story (pp. 77-102). Montreal:
Institute for Research on Public Policy. Retrieved from http://irpp.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/01/aots5-heisz.pdf
Heisz, A., & Murphy, B. (2016). The role of taxes and transfers in reducing income inequality. In
D. A. Green, W. C. Riddell & F. St-Hilaire (Eds.), Income inequality: The Canadian story (pp.

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435-478). Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy. Retrieved from

http://irpp.org/research-studies/aots5-milligan-smart/
Hudson, I. (2008). Fast Facts: Lets have an honest debate on minimum wage. Winnipeg:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - Manitoba. Retrieved from
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/fastfacts-lets-have-honest-debateminimum-wage
Kraay, A., & McKenzie, D. (2014). Do Poverty Traps Exist? Assessing the Evidence. The Journal of
Economic Perspectives, 28(3), 127-148.
OECD. (2012). Reducing income inequality while boosting economic growth: Can it be done?
Reforms, Economic Policy: Going for Growth (pp. 181-202) Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Retrieved from
http://www.oecd.org/eco/labour/49421421.pdf
Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the 21st century (A. Goldhammer Trans.). Cambridge: Harvard
University Press.