Develop deep expertise in the root causes of inequality, and pursue solutions for a more equitable world
The Economic and Racial Equity (ERE) concentration trains MPP students to critique economic and racial inequities by interrogating power dynamics and identifying root causes. Students learn quantitative and qualitative strategies to evaluate social policies and programs that impact the economic wellbeing of populations and communities, particularly BIPOC communities and others that have been marginalized or exploited in our current economic structures. Students develop theoretical and empirical frameworks to understand the policy levers that shape wealth, power, opportunity, inequality, and social change, and then use those frameworks to analyze racial and economic disparities with the goal of designing meaningful equitable solutions.
Students in the ERE concentration engage in rigorous coursework and pursue career-building opportunities through internships, fellowships, and in-house research projects, putting them in an immediate position to take their careers to the next level. Graduates of the ERE concentration regularly land jobs in government agencies, research centers, and nonprofit organizations as policy analysts, program managers, researchers, and policy advocates.
Concentration Chair: Alexandra Piñeros- Shields, PhD’07
“We believe that transformative sustainable social change requires the meaningful participation of people and communities who have been most adversely affected by economic and racial injustice. Linking the vast and impressive experiences our students bring with successful models across the country, we work together to imagine equitable policies.”
Institute for Economic and Racial Equity
Students in this concentration benefit from access to research faculty in the Institute for Economic and Racial Equity (IERE). IERE is dedicated to advancing economic opportunity, security and equity for individuals and families, particularly those left out of the economic mainstream.
Course Requirements
- The full spectrum of MPP core courses
- The following specialized course:
- Additional course(s) selected from the following list in consultation with a faculty advisor:
- HS 216f, Policy Perspectives on Women, Work, and Inequality
- HS 273f, Law and Social Justice: Gender Equity Policies and Litigation
- HS 304a, Environmental Justice and the Human Effects of Climate Change
- HS 307a, Immigration Policy and Human Rights
- HS 314f, Race and Stratification in the U.S. Economy
- HS 317f, Labor Income, Labor Power, and Labor Markets
- HS 322b, Sociological Perspectives on Housing Disparities: Race and Stratification
- HS 323f, Participatory Action Research
- HS 324f, Globalization and Welfare Capitalism
- HS 346f, Policy Perspectives on Criminal Legal System Disparities
- HS 367a, Working with National Data Sets to Inform Policy Analysis and Recommendations
- HS 419f, Labor Economics
- HS 528f, Law and Social Justice: Constructions of Race and Ethnicity and Their Consequences
- Another course may fulfill an Economic and Racial Equity concentration requirement with written permission of the Concentration Chair.