SemesterSpring Semester, 2025
DepartmentInternational Master's Program in Asia-Pacific Studies, First Year International Master's Program in Asia-Pacific Studies, Second Year
Course NamePoverty and Inequality in Era of Urbanization
InstructorSU YU-HSUAN
Credit3.0
Course TypeElective
Prerequisite
Course Objective
Course Description
Course Schedule











































































































































Week   Topic Format Readings Learning hours (including class time)
1   Introduction, Principles of Economics Lecture Class notes 9
2   Regression, Evaluation & Stata Lecture Class notes 12
3   Overview Lecture

  • UN. 2022. "2022 Voluntary National Reviews Synthesis Report."

  • UN. 2021. "2021 Voluntary National Reviews Synthesis Report."

  • UN. 2017. "New Urban Agenda."

  • UN. 2019. "World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision."

  • Banerjee and Duflo. 2007. “Economic lives of the poor.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives.


12
4   Poverty & Inequality Group presentation & Lecture

  • World Bank. 2015. "A Measured Approach to Ending Poverty and Boosting Shared Prosperity: Concepts, Data, and the Twin Goals."

  • Honyes and Patel. 2018. "Effective Policy for Reducing Poverty and Inequality? The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Distribution of Income." Journal of Human Resources.

  • Baum-Snow, Freeman, and Pavan. 2018. "Why Has Urban Inequality Increased?" American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.


12
5   Fertility & Family Planning Group presentation & Lecture

  • Schultz. 1997. “Demand for Children in Low Income Countries.” Handbook of Population and Family Economics.

  • Miller and Babiarz. 2016. "Family Planning Program Effects: Evidence from Microdata." Population and Development Review.

  • Buckles, Hungerman, and Lugauer. 2021. "Is Fertility a Leading Economic Indicator?" The Economic Journal. 

  • Wang, Zhao, and Zhao. 2017. “China’s family planning policies and their labor market consequences.” Journal of Population Economics.

  • Grossman. 2019. "The unintended effects of place based programs: Fertility and health effects of urban empowerment zones." Journal of Health Economics.


12
6   Mortality Group presentation & Lecture

  • Leigh and Jencks. 2007. "Inequality and mortality: Long-run evidence from a panel of countries." Journal of Health Economics.

  • Pickbourn and Ndikumana. 2019. "Does Health Aid Reduce Infant and Child Mortality from Diarrhoea in Sub-Saharan Africa?" Journal of Development Studies.

  • Ebeling. 2018. "How Has the Lower Boundary of Human Mortality Evolved, and Has It Already Stopped Decreasing?" Demography.


12
7   Individual research topic discussion     12
8   Missing Women & Marriage Market Group presentation & Lecture

  • Qian. 2008. “Missing Women and the Price of Tea in China: the Effect of Sex-Specific Earnings on Sex Imbalance.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics.

  • Ebenstein. 2010. “The ‘Missing Girls’ of China and the Unintended Consequences of the One Child Policy.” Journal of Human Resources.

  • Weiss, Yi, and Zhang. 2018. "Cross-Border Marriage Costs and Marriage Behavior: Theory and Evidence." International Economic Review.


12
9   Migration Group presentation & Lecture

  • Bazzi. 2017. “Wealth Heterogeneity and the Income Elasticity of Migration.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.

  • Barsbai et al. 2017. “The Effect of Labor Migration on the Diffusion of Democracy: Evidence from a Former Soviet Republic.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.

  • Howell. 2017. "Impacts of Migration and Remittances on Ethnic Income Inequality in Rural China." World Development.


12
10   Urban Slums Group presentation & Lecture

  • Marx, Stoker, and Suri. 2013. “The Economics of Slums in the Developing World.” Journal of Economic Perspectives.

  • Brueckner and Lall. 2015. “Cities in Developing Countries: Fueled by Rural-Urban Migration, Lacking in Tenure Security, and Short of Affordable Housing.” Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics.

  • Castells-Quintana. 2017. "Malthus living in a slum: Urban concentration, infrastructure and economic growth." Journal of Urban Economics.


12
11   Literature review presentations & critique Individual presentation TBD 12
12   Literature review presentations & critique Individual presentation TBD 12
13   Referee report due; exam questions & review     12
14   Final exam Individual exam   15
15   Guest lecture Lecture World Vision (tentative) 12
16   Final presentations & critique Individual presentation   12

Teaching Methods
Teaching Assistant

TBD


Requirement/Grading

  • Homework and Participation (15%)

  • Group Presentations (20%)

  • Literature Review Presentation and Critique (20%)

  • Exam (15%)

  • Final Paper (30%)



Generative AI tools are allowed in this course.

However, if the content generated by AI is incorrect, or students cannot use their own words to explain the content generated by AI, students will be responsible for the consequences.


Textbook & Reference
Urls about Course
http://moodle.nccu.edu.tw/
Attachment