PUBPOL 2210

Poverty and Public Policy

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

This course provides an introduction to policy research on poverty in the United States and public policies designed to ameliorate economic and material hardship. We will examine different approaches to defining and measuring poverty, competing perspectives on the underlying causes of poverty, how poverty is distributed and transmitted intergenerationally, and how different ways of understanding and framing poverty shape public policy solutions. We will also consider major social safety net programs in the U.S., how they intersect with other institutions impacting marginalized groups, and the lived experiences of program participants living in poverty.

Enrollment Priority Recommended prerequisite: PUBPOL 2301.

Last 4 Terms Offered (None)

Learning Outcomes

• Explain how poverty is defined and measured, the strengths and weaknesses of different measures, and why some groups at unequal risk for poverty.
• Compare different perspectives on the causes of poverty and assess how the definition and framing of poverty shapes policy solutions.
• Identify and evaluate key social safety net programs to alleviate economic and material hardship and how they interact with other institutions that impact marginalized groups.
• Demonstrate awareness of the lived experiences of poverty in the United States and think critically about the impact of policies on reducing or perpetuating poverty.
• Contribute to an inclusive learning environment in which diverse approaches and points of view can help guide government actions.

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