Poverty & Population How Demographics Shape Policy
This course has four modules, or foci. The first is to understand the categories of social welfare—populations, income, earnings, and assets— and some related concepts that play a very large role in shaping policy decisions: unemployment, inflation, and the minimum wage. The second deals with the central institution of social welfare—the labor market, which largely determines how many resources a person has. The labor market also establishes hierarchy, both through meritocracy and through categories of privilege. The third is poverty: the differing ways we define who is poor, and how effective U.S. anti-poverty efforts have been. The final module looks directly at federal decision making, the political organization of ideas, the structure of U.S. government, and the legislative process that shapes much of our social policy. This course addresses issues of power, oppression, and white supremacy.The course is part of a sequence in social policy that has an HONORS TRACK. This track will prepare the learner for masters-level work in policy, which involves reading the literature, writing concise summaries and probing critiques. Over the sequence the learner will develop a policy analysis that will create a foundation for professional policy analyst assignments.
Understand the the US population: age, family structure, education and race/ethnicity to interpret where US social policy is being pushed.
Explain poverty & inequality in the US that results in differing levels of privilege, and opportunity to address the needs of those left behind
Describe the policy process – legislative, executive, judicial and voluntary – to act to improve US social policy
Honors: Report on research of practices on the ground in preparation for a professional policy analysis.
Syllabus
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week 1
Populations, income, poverty and policy
Week 2
Causes of Poverty and Discrimination
Week 3
Gender, Race and oppression
Week 4
Formulating social policy in the U.S.
FAQ
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Reviews
This course makes me understand what poverty really is, what is needed, how to approach it and what can be done as a policy-maker.
The first half of the course was a little redundant, but the second half on government was EXCELLENT!!! Thanks again!
Highly informative and skill enhancing course on demographic considerations in policy development
Very insightful, well-organized, and interesting guest speakers. Overall an experience I would recommend!
