AREC260

Recommended: Completion of introductory statistics recommended but not required. Describes the process by which various scientific disciplines, including anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology and economics do research on the topic of gender. We will examine the current state of the literature on the reason why different sexes exist and how sex translates into gender across different societies today. With a better understand of the source of gender, we will examine how researchers are learning about the reasons behind the highly divergent economic outcomes for men and women today. The class will discuss these issues in the context of the labor market in developed countries like the US (why are there fewer women in high paying STEM jobs?, for example) and in the context of a wide variety of markets in developing countries (what role do women play in agriculture, health and politics?, for example). A particular focus of the class will be on techniques for learning more about the underlying reasons for these differences, how they can be overcome and whether women play a special role in improving economic outcomes in the poorest parts of the world.