爆料王

Unit outline_

ECOP6017: Global Inequality

Semester 2, 2026 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

The principle of equality is a widely held ideal, however, inequality is on the rise worldwide. In this unit, to understand this paradox, you will investigate the historical development of inequalities of wealth and income across the global economy. To do this, you will consider different strands of liberal, Marxian, feminist, and postcolonial economic thought that seek to shed light on how global economic processes produce different forms of inequalities. You will learn how to apply these different analytical frameworks to contemporary issues of inequality and policy debates in affluent and developing nations.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Political Economy
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Martijn Konings, martijn.konings@sydney.edu.au
The census date for this unit availability is 31 August 2026
Type Description Weight Due Length Use of AI
Written work Take-home exam 2
Includes an option for a research report
45% Formal exam period
Due date: 16 Nov 2026 at 23:59
3000 words AI allowed
Outcomes assessed: LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
Written work Take-home exam 1
Take-home exam
45% Week 08
Due date: 25 Sep 2026 at 23:59
3000 words AI allowed
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO7
Contribution Participation
Active contribution to class discussion
10% Weekly In class AI allowed
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO7

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the 听(Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

The following grade descriptors will apply to this assessment:

Fail (Below 50%)

Work not of an acceptable standard.

Work may fail for any or all of the following reasons: unacceptable levels of paraphrasing; irrelevance of content; presentation, grammar or structure so sloppy it cannot be understood; submitted very late without extension.

Low Pass (50鈥54%)

Work of an acceptable standard.

Written work contains evidence of minimal reading and some understanding of subject matter, offers descriptive summary of material relevant to the question, but may have a tendency to paraphrase; makes a reasonable attempt to organise material logically and comprehensibly and to provide scholarly documentation. There may be gaps in any or all of these areas.

Medium Pass (55鈥59%)

Work of a satisfactory standard.

Written work meets basic requirements in terms of reading and research, and demonstrates a reasonable understanding of subject matter. Offers a synthesis of relevant material and shows a genuine effort to avoid paraphrasing, has a logical and comprehensible structure and acceptable documentation, and attempts to mount an argument, though there may be weaknesses in particular areas.

High Pass (60鈥64%)

Work has considerable merit, though Honours is not automatically recommended.

Written work contains evidence of a broad and reasonably accurate command of the subject matter and some sense of its broader significance, offers synthesis and some evaluation of material, demonstrates an effort to go beyond the essential reading, contains clear focus on the principal issues, understanding of relevant arguments and diverse interpretations, and a coherent argument grounded in relevant evidence, though there may be some weaknesses of clarity or structure. Articulate, properly documented.

Note that roughly 45-50% of students in junior levels of study and 25-50% of students in senior level units of study will receive marks within the Pass range each semester.

Low Credit (65鈥69%)

Competent work, demonstrating potential to complete Honours work, though further development needed to do so successfully.

Written work contains evidence of comprehensive reading, offers synthesis and critical evaluation of material on its own terms, takes a position in relation to various interpretations. In addition, it shows some extra spark of insight or analysis. Demonstrates understanding of broad historical significance, good selection of evidence, coherent and sustainable argument, some evidence of independent thought.

High Credit (70鈥74%)

Highly competent work, demonstrating clear capacity to complete Honours successfully.

Evidence of extensive reading and initiative in research, sound grasp of subject matter and appreciation of key issues and context. Engages critically and creatively with the question, and attempts an analytical evaluation of material. Makes a good attempt to critique various interpretations, and offers a pointed and thoughtful contribution to an existing debate. Some evidence of ability to think theoretically as well as empirically, and to conceptualise and problematise issues. Well written and documented.

Distinction (75鈥84%)

Work of a superior standard.

Written work demonstrates initiative in research and reading, complex understanding and original analysis of subject matter and its context, both empirical and theoretical; makes good attempt to 鈥榞et behind鈥 the evidence and engage with its underlying assumptions, takes a critical, interrogative stance in relation to argument and interpretation, shows critical understanding of the principles and values underlying the unit. Properly documented; writing characterised by style, clarity, and some creativity.

High Distinction (85%+)

Work of exceptional standard.

Written work demonstrates initiative and ingenuity in research and reading, pointed and critical analysis of material, innovative interpretation of evidence, makes an insightful contribution to debate, engages with values, assumptions and contested meanings contained within original evidence, develops abstract or theoretical arguments on the strength of detailed research and interpretation. Properly documented; writing characterised by creativity, style, and precision.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

You can use generative AI tools for open assessments. Restrictions on AI use apply to secure, supervised assessments used to confirm if students have met specific learning outcomes.

Refer to the assessment table above to see if AI is allowed, for assessments in this unit and check Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks and AI use.

If you use AI, you must always acknowledge it. Misusing AI may lead to a breach of the听Academic Integrity Policy.

Visit the听Current Students website听for more information on AI in assessments, including听details on how to acknowledge its use.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The University expects students to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

Our website听provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. This includes advice on how to avoid common breaches of academic integrity. Ensure that you have completed the听Academic Honesty Education Module (AHEM)听which is mandatory for all commencing coursework students

Penalties for serious breaches can significantly impact your studies and your career after graduation. It is important that you speak with your unit coordinator if you need help with completing assessments.

Visit the听Current Students website听for more information on AI in assessments, including听details on how to acknowledge its use.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a听simple extension.鈥 The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can鈥檛 complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for听special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students,听听includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy听reflects the University鈥檚 commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Introduction Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Introduction Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 02 Should we care about inequality? Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Should we care about inequality? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 03 Theories of distribution Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Theories of distribution Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 04 Modern and pre-modern forms of inequality Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Modern and pre-modern forms of inequality Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 05 Global inequality in historical perspective Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Global inequality in historical perspective Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 06 Global inequality in the neoliberal era Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Global inequality in the neoliberal era Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 07 Inequality within nations Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Inequality within nations Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 08 Social and cultural mechanisms Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Social and cultural mechanisms Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 09 Political mechanisms Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Political mechanisms Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 10 The return of wealth inequality Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
The return of wealth inequality Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 11 Retirement wealth Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Retirement wealth Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 12 Housing and inequality Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Housing and inequality Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Week 13 Technofeudalism? / Conclusion Lecture (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2
Technofeudalism? / Conclusion Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4 LO2

Attendance and class requirements

  • Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner鈥檚 Board. The Examiner鈥檚听Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
  • Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
  • Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours鈥 preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Topics and readings by week

Week 1: Introduction

No readings.

Week 2: Should we care about inequality?

Friedrich A. Hayek, Law, legislation and liberty Vol.2 The mirage of social justice (University of Chicago Press, 1976): pp. 62-85.

Hilary Wainwright, Arguments for a new left: answering the free-market right (Verso, 1994): ch. 2 鈥楩rederick Hayek and the social-engineering state鈥.

Week 3: Theories of distribution

Alex Callinicos, Equality (Polity, 2000): pp. 36-64.

Nancy Fraser, 鈥楩rom redistribution to recognition? Dilemmas of justice in a 鈥減ost-socialist鈥 age鈥, New Left Review, I/212, 1995.

Week 4: Modern and pre-modern forms of inequality

Ellen Meiksins Wood, Empire of capital (Verso, 2003): ch. 1 鈥楾he detachment of economic power鈥.

Alain de Botton, Status anxiety (Penguin, 2004): ch. 3 鈥楨quality, expectation and envy鈥.

Week 5: Global inequality in historical perspective

David McNally, Another world is possible (Arbeiter, 2002): ch. 4 鈥楾he colour of money: race, gender, and the many oppressions of global capital鈥.

Branko Milanovic, Global inequality: a new approach for the age of globalization (Harvard University Press, 2016): ch. 3 鈥業nequalities among countries鈥.

Week 6: Global inequality in the neoliberal era

Alastair Greig, David Hulme and Mark Turner, Challenging global inequality: development theory and practice in the 21st century (Palgrave, 2007): ch. 6 鈥楾he framework of early 21-century development鈥.

Ilias Alami and Vincent Guermond, 鈥楾he color of money at the financial frontier鈥,听Review of International Political Economy,听30 (3), 2022.

Week 7: Inequality within nations

T.H. Marshall, 鈥楥itizenship and social class鈥, in Christopher Pierson and Francis G. Castles (eds.), The welfare state. A reader (Polity, 2000).

Anthony B. Atkinson (2015). Inequality: what can be done? (Harvard University Press, 2015): ch. 1 鈥楽etting the scene'.

Week 8: Social and cultural mechanisms

Annette Lareau, 鈥業nvisible inequality: social class and childrearing in black families and white families鈥, American Sociological Review, 67 (5), 2002.

Lisa Adkins and Maryanne Dever, 鈥楾oward a political economy of the long term鈥, in Scott Herring and Lee Wallace (eds.), Long term: essays on queer commitment, Duke University Press, 2021.

Week 9: Political mechanisms

Naomi Klein, Shock doctrine (Metropolitan, 2007): Introduction.

Isabel Lorey, State of insecurity (Verso, 2015): Introduction, ch. 1, and ch. 4.

Week 10: The return of wealth inequality

Thomas Piketty, Capital in the twenty-first century, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press: pp.1-27.

C茅line Bessi猫re and Sibylle Gollac, The gender of capital: how families perpetuate wealth inequality (Harvard University Press, 2023): ch. 2 鈥楩amily reproduction versus women鈥檚 wealth鈥.

Week 11: Retirement wealth

Paul Langley, 鈥淭he making of investor subjects in Anglo-American pensions鈥,听Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 24(6), 2006.

Ariane Agunsoye and Hayley James, 鈥樷業 had to take control鈥: gendered finance rationality in the UK鈥, Review of International Political Economy, 30(4), 2023.

Week 12: Housing and inequality

Alan Morris, 鈥楬ousing and inequality in Australia鈥, The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 34 (1), 2023.

Lisa Adkins, Melinda Cooper, Martijn Konings, 鈥楥lass in the 21st century: asset inflation and the new logic of inequality鈥,Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 53 (3), 2021.

Week 13: Technofeudalism? / Conclusion

Jenna Burrell and Marion Fourcade, 鈥楾he society of algorithms鈥, Annual Review of Sociology, 47 (1), 2021.

Jinqi Yan, 鈥楾echno-Feudalism as primitive accumulation: A Marxist perspective on digital capitalism鈥, Critical Sociology, 52 (1), 2026.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. understand and outline various concepts of economic inequality and how it may be measured
  • LO2. understand and outline factors that impact inequality in the global economy
  • LO3. think critically about various perspectives on inequality and contribute to debates surrounding it
  • LO4. analyse and discuss research on particular aspects of inequality
  • LO5. explore a current topic in inequality of your choosing using your own sources
  • LO6. use academic sources to conduct independent scholarly research on an aspect of inequality with clear aims and conclusions
  • LO7. display scholarly social science research skills with clear discussion in both written and oral form.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all 爆料王 graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one鈥檚 personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Some topics and readings have been changed.

Disclaimer

Important: the 爆料王 regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.

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