SP231      One Unit
Poverty, Inequality, and Social Policy

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Availability

This course has two main goals. The first one is to understand the different ways poverty and inequality are conceptualised and measured, and to assess the progress nationally and globally in reducing poverty and inequality. The second goal is to examine the role of social policy in mitigating poverty and inequality. We will examine key policy areas such as taxation, social security, and policies related to early childhood education, education, labour markets, migration, climate change, and global trade. We will evaluate the characteristics of ‘good’ social policy, analyse how existing policies in various countries measure up to these ideals, and explore potential reforms. We will also assess the impact of factors like gender, age, disability, and citizenship on poverty and inequality across different locations and times. Throughout the course, we will draw on examples and evidence from a wide range of country settings – high-, middle- and low-income countries.

By the end of this course, students will have developed essential skills that will benefit them during their studies and beyond. These include the ability to critically engage with theories and evidence, communicate complex arguments clearly, interpret tables and figures critically, and work effectively both independently and collaboratively.

This course is essential for anyone interested in measuring poverty and inequality, as well as designing and evaluating social policies to address some of the most pressing challenges facing societies today.

10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of classes in the Autumn Term.
10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of classes in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn and Winter Term.

All teaching will be in accordance with the LSE Academic Code which specifies a "minimum of two hours taught contact time per week when the course is running in the Autumn Term (AT) and/or Winter Term (WT)". Social Policy courses are predominantly taught through a combination of in-person lectures and in-person classes/seminars. Further information will be provided by the Course Convenor in the first lecture of the course.

Mock exam

Essay in Autumn Term Week 11

Students will attempt an essay in class under timed conditions

A detailed list will be provided at the start of the course.

• Atkinson, Anthony B. (2015). Inequality: What Can Be Done? Harvard University Press
• Atkinson, Anthony B. (2016). Measuring poverty around the world. Edited by John Micklewright and Andrea Brandolini. Princeton University Press
• Dean, Hartley & Lucinda Platt (2016). Social Advantage and Disadvantage. Oxford University Press
• Hills, John (2014). Good Times, Bad Times: The Welfare Myth of Them and Us. Policy Press
• IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities: https://ifs.org.uk/inequality/
• Latin America and Caribbean Inequality Review: https://lacir.lse.ac.uk/en-GB
• Ruane, Sally, Micheál L. Collins, and Adrian Sinfield (2020). State of the Art. The Centrality of Taxation to Social Policy. Social Policy & Society 19(3), 437–453
• Shafik, Minouche (2021). What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract for a Better Society. Princeton University Press
• Stuart Adam, Tim Besley, Richard Blundell, Stephen Bond ,Robert Chote, Malcolm Gammie, Paul Johnson, James Mirrlees, Gareth Myles, and James M. Poterba (2011). Tax by design. Oxford University Press

Exam (70%), duration: 180 Minutes in the Spring exam period

Exam (30%), duration: 50 Minutes in the Spring exam period

This course will be assessed by two in-person exams in the ST Exam period. One (70%) will be essay based. The other (30%) will be a multiple choice quiz.