88-430 Methods of Policy Analysis
12 units, Carnegie Mellon University
After decades of slow wage growth and rising inequality, many American workers now fear an epidemic of joblessness as new technologies increasingly replace human labor. Is this likely to occur How will emerging technologies reshape the U.S. labor market How important is the gig economy, and how big might it become What can policy makers do to ensure that the growth of the American economy is more inclusive and equitable The curriculum of 88430 has been rewritten to help interested CMU students think seriously and rigorously about the future of work in the 21st century American economy. The course will place current concerns in the broader context of the major structural shifts in the U.S. labor market over the past several decades. Drawing upon the most recent quantitative analyses, the course will show that technological change has contributed to increasingly unequal outcomes in the U.S. labor market, and that this trend is likely to continue as a new wave of technological change unfolds. The course will also consider the degree to which globalization, immigration, rising monopoly power, declining union strength, minimum wage laws, and discrimination based on race and gender have contributed to rising inequality in U.S. incomes. The course will draw upon frontier research to identify old and new policy ideas that could help make economic growth more inclusive, and it will bring into the class policy entrepreneurs who are making a real difference. Students will not just study the problems associated with the future of work they will also get directly involved in the generation of meaningful solutions by completing original policy analyses for government agencies and nonprofits seeking to make that future more equitable.
Prerequisites: none listed
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