Prof Stephen Jenkins

This course is available on the Double Master of Public Administration (LSE-Columbia), Double Master of Public Administration (LSE-Sciences Po), Double Master of Public Administration (LSE-University of Toronto), Master of Public Administration, Master of Public Policy, MPA Dual Degree (LSE and Hertie), MPA Dual Degree (LSE and NUS), MPA Dual Degree (LSE and Tokyo), MPA in Data Science for Public Policy, MSc in International Social and Public Policy, MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Development), MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Education), MSc in International Social and Public Policy (LSE and Fudan), MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Migration), MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Non-Governmental Organisations) and MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Research). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

Priority will be given to SPP students, then Department of Social Policy programmes, then MSc Inequalities and Social Sciences and then other LSE programmes. Outside option students will need to submit a statement requesting a place.

Deadline for application: 9am on Monday of week 1 of Autumn Term (including requests from School of Public Policy students). We aim to inform students of the outcome of their request by 12noon on Tuesday of week 1 of Autumn Term.

For queries contact: spp.doubledegrees@lse.ac.uk

This course has no formal pre-requisites.

The course focuses on quantitative approaches to the analysis and measurement of inequality and poverty. Students need to be or become comfortable with: (a) sometimes using symbols to represent concepts and measures (but NB students are never required to memorise formulae); (b) using charts and tables to summarize and interpret data; and (c) basic statistical concepts such as means and variances.

The course is challenging but not intrinsically difficult; most important is a willingness to engage with the issues in depth.

This course is about the welfare analysis and measurement of individuals and societies from a quantitative perspective, examining concepts, measurement methods, and data, as well as providing real-world illustrations. The aims are to provide an understanding of the main tools used to measure and monitor individuals’ and societal ‘welfare’, and to develop skills for assessing academic research and official statistics (as produced by national or international agencies) and for undertaking one’s own analysis. Overall, the course provides analytical skills and knowledge of concepts, methods and data that are essential for public policy analysts in today’s world. The course focuses on monetary measures of economic wellbeing, notably income but also consumption and wealth, and on the experience of high-, middle-, and low-income countries.

The topics covered include measurement of inequality, poverty, mobility and poverty persistence; setting poverty thresholds and equivalence scales; data sources and their quality; empirical illustrations considering assessments of levels and trends within countries, cross-national differences, and global inequality and poverty.

(Note: PP4X8 is a complementary half-unit course: it focuses on non-monetary, multidimensional, and subjective measures of welfare for individuals and societies. Together, PP4X7 and PP4X8 provide a comprehensive introduction to welfare analysis and measurement topics. A caricature distinction between the two courses is that PP4X7 takes a World Bank-type approach to analysis and measurement, whereas PP4X8 takes a UNDP-type approach.)

16.5 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.

Short answer questions.

The formative exercise consists of a set of short-answer questions designed to provide practice in applying and interpreting key concepts, measures, and empirical evidence covered in the course. Questions are structured to test understanding of definitions, interpretation of tables or figures, and conceptual distinctions across different approaches to welfare measurement. Feedback is provided, but the exercise does not contribute to the final mark. Seminars provide practice at answering these sorts of questions.

Most of the course reading is in journal articles. One book that covers several course topics is: 

• Foster, J, Seth, S, Lokshin M and Sajaia, Z, A Unified Approach to Measuring Poverty and Inequality (2013; free e-book available)

A full reading list is distributed at the beginning of the course.

Exam (75%), duration: 120 Minutes, reading time: 15 minutes in the Spring exam period.

Essay (25%, 2500 words).

Essay (25%): 

This summative coursework requires students to answer one question from a choice of two. Each question has multiple linked parts, but students are expected to provide more integrated and in-depth written responses than the short answers expected in the Formative Assessment. The assessment is designed to test students’ ability to develop and sustain an argument using tools and evidence, demonstrate conceptual understanding, engage critically with measurement choices and data, and interpret empirical material where relevant. The maximum word count is approximately 2,000–2,500 words, excluding references, tables, or figures. Generic (class-level) written feedback will be provided.

In-person exam (75%):

The final examination has a similar format to the Formative Assessment, but there is a greater number of questions to be attempted, and coverage is greater (questions will cover the whole course). Questions are designed to test conceptual understanding, interpretation of empirical material, and the ability to compare and evaluate different approaches to inequality and poverty analysis and measurement.