CO -Inequality and social mobility in developing countries. The example of India and China -Floriane Bolazzi

The course intends to introduce students to the nexus between development, inequality and social mobility, focusing on fast-developing countries characterized by steady growth rates, deep political and institutional transformations and extreme levels of inequalities.

The course provides insights into the concept of social mobility and its relevance for developing countries engaging theoretically with the main approaches to social stratification and development studies. In the first part of the course, recent empirical evidence on inequality and social mobility trends will be presented with a global perspective while in second part of the course the focus will be on India and China.

While both Indian and Chinese societies have been characterized by a process of deep modernization during the last decades, there is evidence of new opportunities for social mobility being unevenly distributed among the population. The main political and socio-economic factors affecting the reproduction of inequality in the two countries are addressed from a historical perspective, with particular attention to the caste system in India and the hukou system in China which continue to act as important brakes to social mobility.

Students are invited, at the end of the course, to explore and discuss autonomously a selection of academic papers. Basic concepts and methodological tools (definitions, indicators, data, graphs etc.) will be provided in order to interpret quantitative findings on social mobility.

The empirical material presented in the course is primarily derived from a selection of recent academic papers, handbooks and reports.

To make the most of this course, students should have some basic knowledge of math and statistics for social sciences (cross-tabulations and graphs).