Course # 39404 Section Number 1 Day(s) Tu Time(s) 5:00pm-7:50pm Term Winter 2024 Specialization Markets & Regulation Finance & Policy Social & Economic Inequality Course Instructor Damon Jones Syllabus Syllabus 12/19/23 The first component of this course will feature seminar discussions of inequality in the US, with respect to income, gender and race, and how these interact with US tax policy. We will have a focus on income transfers to low-income households such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. We will also review current policy topics in Household Finance, the study of how households save, borrow, and/or use insurance to overcome unexpected changes in household income. In addition, we will discuss the process of filing tax returns, the prevalence of income tax refunds, and the various industries, both non-profit and for-profit, that have arisen around this phenomenon. Next, students will go into the field, and work as volunteer tax preparers for a local, Chicago non-profit, Ladder Up. Students will be trained as tax preparers (which requires a 3-hour training session), learn how these services are delivered, and will also learn about the various social goals and public benefits that are often coupled with this process. Tax season begins in late January, and the students will volunteer weekly for about 6 weeks, until the end of the quarter. Students are also encouraged, though not required, to continue to volunteer until the end of the tax season, April 15th. Finally, students will produce a final project as a part of a group project. This course counts towards the Finance & Policy Certificate, or the Markets & Regulation Certificate. Quarter Title Instructor Day(s) Time(s) Syllabus Winter 2024 Inequality, Household Finance, and Tax Policy Damon Jones Tuesday 5:00pm-7:50pm Syllabus Recent News More news Alumni Profile: Eloísa Ávila-Uribe, MACRM’23 Fri., April 26, 2024 Ariel Kalil: Multigenerational households are key to better support for kids of single mothers Thu., April 25, 2024 America is uniquely ill-suited to handle a falling population Wed., April 24, 2024 Upcoming Events More events SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Challenge Program for High School Students: Navigating US College Admissions with Ranjan Daniels Mon., April 29, 2024 | 8:00 AM Data & Policy Summer Scholar (DPSS) Roundtable with Alumni Mon., April 29, 2024 | 7:30 PM Harris Evening Master's Program Class Visit—Economic Analysis III: Public Finance and Budgeting With Professor Justin Marlowe Tue., April 30, 2024 | 5:45 PM Convene 311 West Monroe St. 2nd Floor Reception Chicago, IL 60606 United States