Introduction
Through readings, energetic class discussions, films, speakers, a research project, and a field trip, we will examine social needs and solutions to meet those needs. We will spend the first half of the semester thinking about poverty, what it means, how we define it, and what causes it. In the second half of the semester, we will explore policy solutions including social insurance, welfare, education, housing/community development and healthcare. Throughout the semester in our readings, class discussions, and research, we will pay particular attention to politics, power, gender, race, class, and ethnicity.

Bradley R. Schiller. 2003. The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination. 9th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Mollenkopf, John and Ken Emerson. Ed. 2001. Rethinking the Urban Agenda: Reinvigorating the Liberal Tradition in New York City and Urban America. New York: The Century Foundation Press

Course Pack
Available at Pequod Copy on Somerset Street

Attendance and class participation: You are required to read the assigned readings, attend class, and participate energetically in class discussions 15%
Exams: mid-term and final (25 each) 50%
Group Urban Policy Research Paper and Presentation: 35%

PART I. INTRODUCTION: URBAN POVERTY & SOCIAL POLICY

September 2. Introduction
(Class ends at 11:45 due to Orientation)

Meet and Greet
Course Overview
Expectations
Urban Social Policy (in brief)

September 9. What is Poverty?

Schiller. Chapter 1. Views of Inequality (p 1-17).

Schiller. Chapter 2. Inequality (18-36).

Schiller. Chapter 3. Counting the Poor (37-66).

Krugman, Paul. 1992. “The Rich, the Right, and the Facts: Deconstructing the Income Distribution Debate.” V3 n11 The American Prospect September 1

Wolff, Edward. 1995. “How the Pie is Sliced: America’s Growing Concentration of Wealth.” v6 n22 The American Prospect June 23.

Deliverable: Form Research Teams

September 16. Why are People Poor?

Schiller. Chapter 4. Labor Force Participation (67-89).

Schiller. Chapter 5. The Working Poor (90-106).

Schiller. Chapter 6. Age and Health (107-124).

Schiller. Chapter 7. Family Size and Structure (125-139).

Krugman, Paul. 2002. “For Richer.” New York Times Magazine. October 20.

Deliverable: Identify Research Topic, Hypotheses, and Research Questions

September 23. Why are People Poor? II

Sugrue, Thomas. 1996. Chapter 4. “The Meanest and Dirtiest Jobs”: The Structures of Employment Discrimination.” In The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 91-123.

Schiller. Chapter 8. The Underclass: Culture and Race (140-155).

Schiller. Chapter 9. Education and Ability (156-169).

Schiller. Chapter 10. Discrimination in Education (170-189).

Schiller. Chapter 11. Discrimination in the Labor Market (190-207)

PART II: SOCIAL POLICY

September 30. Social Insurance

Schiller. Chapter 13. Social Insurance Programs. pp 237-253.

Reich, Robert. 2002. Chapter 1. “Whatever Happened to the Social Contract?” in I’ll Be Short: Essentials for a Decent Working Society. Boston: Beacon Press pp1-22.

Greenstein, Bob. 2003. Presentation at a Conference on Economic Justice sponsored by the Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation. June 28. Available on course website.

October 7: Social Policy, Federalism and Devolution

Anton, Thomas J. 1989. Chapters 1 & 3 The Federalism Issue (1-16) and The Distribution of Federal Benefits (39-70) in American Federalism & Public Policy: How the System Works. New York: Random House.

Kodras, Janet. 1997. “Restructuring the State: Devolution, Privatization, and the Geographic Redistribution of Power and Capacity in Governance.” In Lynn Staeheli, Janet Kodras, and Colin Flint. State Devolution in America. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Pp 79-96.

Lake, Robert. 2002. “Bring Back Big Government.” v26 n4 International Journal of Urban and Regional Research December: 815-22.

Deliverable: Research Project Section I

October 14. Welfare

Schiller. Chapter 12. Welfare Programs (208-236).

The White House. 2003. Working Toward Independence. The President’s Plan to Strengthen Welfare Reform. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/02/welfare-reform-announcement-book.html (check the website for video presentations and other interesting tidbits)

Urban Institute. 2003. Issues in TANF Reauthorization. What does the New Federalism Have to Say About Welfare and Work? http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/900619_FastFacts.pdf

Berlin, Gordon L. 2001. “Redesigning the Safety Net for the Working Poor, the Hard to Employ, and Those at Risk.” In John Mollenkopf and Ken Emerson ed, Rethinking the Urban Agenda: Reinvigorating the Liberal Tradition in New York City and Urban America. New York: The Century Foundation Press. (93-127).

Films:
Take it From Me. P.O.V. by Emily Abt. PBS

Welfare Reform and the College Option: Voices and Perspectives from the National Conference. New York: Howard Samuels Center, Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York. 2002

October 21. Employment

Schiller. Chapter 14. Employment Policies (254-272).

Reich, Robert. 2002. Chapter 3. “Work that Pays, Insurance if It Doesn’t” in I’ll Be Short: Essentials for a Decent Working Society. Boston: Beacon Press. Pp 47-62.

Frank, Abbey, Hedieh Rahmanou, and Steve Savner. 2003. “The Workforce Investment Act: A First Look at Participation, Demographics, and Services.” Washington, D.C.: Center for Law and Social Policy Program Update. March. Update No. 1.

Parrott, James. 2001. “Bolstering and Diversifying New York City’s Economy.” In John Mollenkopf and Ken Emerson ed, Rethinking the Urban Agenda: Reinvigorating the Liberal Tradition in New York City and Urban America. New York: The Century Foundation Press. Pp 41-74.

Deliverable: Research Paper Section II

October 28. Mid-term

November 4. Education

Urban Institute. “Fact Sheets. Education Reform: Ten Basic Questions Answered.” http://www.urban.org/news/factsheets/eduFS.pdf (2 pages).

Matthew Miller. 1999. “A Bold Experiment to Fix City Schools.” (July) The Atlantic Monthly. http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99jul/9907vouchers.htm

Fruchter, Norm. 2001. “Millennial Prospects: Educating All New Yorkers.” In John Mollenkopf and Ken Emerson ed, Rethinking the Urban Agenda: Reinvigorating the Liberal Tradition in New York City and Urban America. New York: The Century Foundation Press.

White House Education Agenda http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/education/

Mooney, John. 2003. “200 Schools Lag Federal Mandate.” The Star Ledger April 2

November 11. Housing and Community Development

O’Conner, Alice. 1999. “Swimming Against the Tide: A Brief History of Federal Policy in Poor Communities.” In Ronald Ferguson and William T. Dickens Ed. Urban Problems and Community Development. Pp 77-137.

Stark, Martha E. and Doug Turetsky. 2001. “Homeward Bound: A Twenty-First-Century Affordable Housing Agenda for New York.” In John Mollenkopf and Ken Emerson ed, Rethinking the Urban Agenda: Reinvigorating the Liberal Tradition in New York City and Urban America. New York: The Century Foundation Press. 129-156.

Field Trip: New Brunswick Today!

November 18. Health

Rogers, Denise. 2002. “The State of Black New Jersey.” New Brunswick: New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute. Working Paper 01-02.

Brown, Lawrence. 2001. “Ill-Studied Ambiguity: Health Policy and the Urban Agenda.” In John Mollenkopf and Ken Emerson ed, Rethinking the Urban Agenda: Reinvigorating the Liberal Tradition in New York City and Urban America. New York: The Century Foundation Press. Pp 157-170.

Nick Freudenberg. 2000. “Health Promotion in the City: A Review of Current Practice and Future Prospects in the United States.” Annual Review of Public Health. V21: 473-503.

Long, Sharon. 2003. “Hardship Among the Uninsured: Choosing Among Food, Housing, and Health Insurance.” Urban Institute’s New Federalism. Series B. N B-54. May. http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310775_B-54.pdf

November 25. No Class

December 2 and 9. Presentations & Final Exam Review

15 minute in-class presentation
Bring your presentation on a CD-Rom

Deliverable: Papers Due

December 17. Final Exam

RESEARCH PAPER AND PRESENTATION

You may do the research project alone or in a group of no more than 3 people. Select an urban social policy topic/issue and a city in which to research the topic.

Policy Topics:
Following are some policy areas and programs to get you thinking. If you are interested in a policy area not listed, you may select it with my approval.

Housing and Community Development

Community Development Block Grant, HOME, Hope VI, Section 8 (project and or voucher), Moving to Opportunity, Public Housing, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, State Enterprise Zones, Individual Development Accounts

Welfare
TANF, Reauthorizing Welfare

Healthcare

Medicaid, CHIP, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Lead poisoning, programs related to specific groups – elderly, children, women, etc… Vaccination Programs

Employment
Workforce Investment Act, Living Wage Legislation

Education
State take over of urban school districts, Abbott, School reform policies, Charters, Vouchers

Tax
Earned Income Tax Credit

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND PAPER OUTLINE

SECTION 1. IDENTIFY AN URBAN SOCIAL POLICY (CHOOSE FROM LIST PROVIDED)
Research the policy’s history and objectives (Internet and library)
• When was it created?
• Why was it created?
• How does it fit with earlier policy efforts designed to meet this need?
• Who created it?
• What is the theory behind the policy (what is it supposed to do and why?)

SECTION II. EXAMINE THE NEED FOR THE POLICY IN THE CITY OF YOUR CHOICE
• Identify and analyze appropriate quantitative data (ie census)
• Conduct a literature review (newspaper articles, journal articles, reports, books etc…)

SECTION III. POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
• How is the policy implemented?
• What levels of government are responsible and what are they responsible for?
• Who are the key players involved in implementation?
• Who decides who gets the money and how the money is spent?
• Does implementation differ from what the originators intended?
• What issues have emerged in implementation?
• What does how it is implemented tell you about local politics and who has power?
• How does this differ from how the program is implemented in other cities?

SECTION IV. RECOMMENDATIONS, ADDITIONAL RESEARCH
• Based on your research, how could the policy be improved?
• Is the Bush Administration proposing to change this policy? If so, how and what do you think about the proposed changes based on your research findings?
• Identify questions for future research

• What is your project about?
• What are your research questions?
• What methods did you use to answer the questions?
• What did you find?
• What are your conclusions?

Paper Guidelines:
15-20 pages
1.5 spaced
1-inch margins
12 point font

Each day your paper is late, your grade will drop by a full letter (i.e. you earned an “A” but your paper was a day late, you get a “B”)

Due Dates:

September 9 - Form Research Teams
September 16 - Identify Research Topic, Hypotheses, and Research Questions
October 7 - Section I due
October 21 - Section II due
December 2 - Final Papers due:
December 2h and 9h - Presentations

As you turn in each section, I will grade and return your papers to you. You can improve your grade by revising your sections based on my comments.