Instructor: Keith T. Poole

Office: Room 304D Baldwin Hall
E-Mail: ktpoole@uga.edu
WebSite: Voteview Home Page

Office Hours: Thursday 3:00 - 5:00PM

The following texts will be used in this course:

• Nolan M. McCarty, Keith T. Poole, and Howard Rosenthal. 2006.Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches
• Joseph E. Stiglitz. 2013. The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future (2nd Edition)
  
• Timothy Noah. 2012. The Great Divergence
  
• Martin Gilens. 2012. Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America
  

Requirements

Grades will be determined by three examinations -- two mid-semester exams and a final exam. The exams will consist of short answer essay questions. The midterms will be worth ¼ each and the final 1/2 of the course grade.

The first exam is scheduled for Friday, 26 September 2014, 3:35 - 4:25PM.
The second exam is scheduled for Friday, 7 November 2014, 3:35 - 4:25PM.
The final is scheduled for Wednesday, 17 December 2014, 3:30 - 5:30PM.

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Course Outline

1. Congressional Polarization
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Polarized America, chapters 1 and 2
     
     • Brief Overview of the State of Income Inequality (PowerPoint)
       
     • IRS Tax Tables Page
       
     
     
   • "Measuring Ideology"
     
   • "The Decline and Rise of Party Polarization in Congress During the Twentieth Century." Extensions, Fall 2005.
     
   • "The Roots of the Polarization of Modern U. S. Politics." Revista de Ciencia Politica, December, 2008.
     
   • Growing Apart: The Mathematical Evidence for Congress' Growing Polarization, by Jordan Ellenberg
     (Note that the links to voteview.uh.edu should be pooleandrosenthal.com. The pages are still on the website.)
     Measuring Ideology (PowerPoint)
     
     
   • House and Senate DW-NOMINATE QuickTime Movie (through 1^st session of the 113^th Congress
   
   
   
2. The Basics of Income Inequality in the US since the end of World War II
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Polarized America, Chapter 3
     
   • The Price of Inequality, pages ix - lxiv
     
   • The Great Divergence, Introduction and Chapters 1, 2 and 3
     
     
   • "Polanyi's Paradox and the Shape of Employment Growth." David H. Autor, MIT.
     
   • "The Rise and Consequences of Inequality in the United States." Alan Kruger's Remarks at the Center for American Progress, January, 2012.
     
   • Federal Reserve Bulletin: "Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2010 to 2013: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances."
     
   • Rutgers: John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development: "Unfulfilled Expectations: Recent College Graduates Struggle in a Troubled Economy."
     
   • Institute for Women's Policy Research: "The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation 2013 and by Race and Ethnicity."
     
   • "The American High School Graduation Rate: Trends and Levels." James J. Heckman and Paul A. LaFontaine, Discussion Paper 3216, December 2007, Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn, Germany
     
   • "Skill Gaps, Skill Shortages and Skill Mismatches: Evidence for the U.S.", Peter Cappelli, NBER WP20382, August 2014
     
   • "Trends in Educational Assortative Marriage From 1940 to 2003." Christine R. Schwartz and Robert D. Mare, California Center for Population Research, UCLA
     
   • "Marry Your Like: Assortative Mating and Income Inequality." Greenwood, guner, Kocharkov, Santos, NBER WP19829, January, 2014
     
   • "Consumer Bankruptcy Filings: Trends and Indicators." Charles J. Tabb, Illinois Law and Economics WP Series No. LE06-023, University of Illinois College of Law.
     
   • "A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter." American Economic Review 2014, 104(4):1091-1119, by Claudia Goldin.
     
     
     • Civil RIghts and the Realignment of the South (PowerPoint)
       
     • Chapters 2 and 3 of Polarized America (PowerPoint)
       
     • Noah Chapters 1-3 and Stiglitz Introduction (PowerPoint)
       
     • Alan Kruger Remarks at the Center for American Progress, January, 2012 (PowerPoint)
       
     • Polanyi's Paradox and the Shape of Employment Growth, August, 2014 (PowerPoint)
       
   
   First Exam Study Questions
   
   
3. The Financial Crisis of 2007-08 and the Great Recession
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • The Price of Inequality, Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4
     
     
     • The Financial Crisis of 2007-08, Part 1 (PowerPoint)
       
     • The Financial Crisis of 2007-08, Part 2 (PowerPoint)
       
     • The Financial Crisis of 2007-08, Part 3 (PowerPoint)
       
       
   Second Exam Study Questions
   
   
4. Is Immigration to Blame?
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Polarized America, Chapter 4
     
   • The Great Divergence, Chapter 4
     
     
     • Income Inequality and Immigration (PowerPoint)
       
       
5. Education, Job Skills, and Globalization
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • The Price of Inequality, Chapters 5, 6, and 7
     
   • The Great Divergence, Chapters 5 and 6
     
   • The Evolving Structure of the American Economy and the Employment Challenge, Michael Spence and Sandile Hlatshwayo, 2011, Council on Foreign Relations
     
     
     • Income Inequality, Education, and Free Trade (PowerPoint)
       
       
6. Money, Organized Interests, and American Politics
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Polarized America, Chapter 5
     
   • The Price of Inequality, Chapters 5, 6, and 7
     
   • The Great Divergence, Chapters 7 and 8
     
     
     • Money and The Ruling Elite (PowerPoint)
       
       
7. Citizen Affluence and Public Policy
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Affluence and Influence, Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4
     
   • The Price of Inequality, Chapters 8, and 9
     
   • The Great Divergence, Chapter 9
     
   • "Wealth Inequality in the United States Since 1913: Evidence From Capitalized Income Tax Data." NBER Working Paper 20625, October 2014.
     
     
     • The Affluent and Public Policy (PowerPoint)
       
       
   Final Exam Study Questions
   
   
8. The Public Policy Consequences of Polarization and Inequality
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Affluence and Influence, Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8
     
   • The Price of Inequality, Chapter 10
     
   • The Great Divergence, Chapters 10, 11, and Afterword
     
   • Polarized America, Chapters 6 and 7
     
   • "Income Inequality and Political Polarization: Time Series Evidence Over Nine Decades." Review of Income and Wealth (forthcoming)
     
     
     • Polarization and Policy Gridlock (PowerPoint)
       
       

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Site Links

VOTEVIEW Blog
NOMINATE Data, Roll Call Data, and Software
Course Web Pages: University of Georgia (2010 - )
Course Web Pages: UC San Diego (2004 - 2010)
University of San Diego Law School (2005)
Course Web Pages: University of Houston (2000 - 2005)
Course Web Pages: Carnegie-Mellon University (1997 - 2000)
Analyzing Spatial Models of Choice and Judgment with R
Spatial Models of Parliamentary Voting
Recent Working Papers
Analyses of Recent Politics
About This Website
K7MOA Log Books: 1960 - 2017
Bio of Keith T. Poole
Related Links

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