AØKK08418U Seminar: Economics of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Volume 2022/2023
Education

MSc programme in Economics

The seminar is primarily for students at the MSc of Economics

Content

There is increasing talk of diversity and the related concepts of Inclusion, Belonging and Equity in both societal and organizational spheres these days. Many studies are presented on the economic benefits of diversity, both for organizations and for society in general. At the same time, we hear some arguments against increasing diversity in certain domains (e.g., in ethnicity or cultural backgrounds). But how much do we really know about the economics of diversity?

What do we mean by ‘diversity’ in the first place? How does diversity relate to good governance?  What is the relationship of diversity to entrepreneurship? When does diversity lead to economic benefits and when does it not? What is the relationship between diversity and equity? And what role does social inclusion play in creating economic benefits for organizations? These are some of the central questions of this seminar.

We will aim at exploring various aspects of diversity such as ethnic, racial, religious, gender, personality, age, education etc. and investigate what the available data tells us about the economics of diversity and related notions of equity and inclusion. We will also consider unanswered questions in the economics of diversity, equity and inclusion, and future directions for the study of the economics of diversity in human systems.

Learning Outcome

After completing the seminar the student is expected to be able to fulfill the learning outcome specified in the Master curriculum and to be able to:

In terms of Knowledge:

  • Describe the various theoretical approaches to look at the economics of diversity and the related concepts of equity and inclusion.
  • Discuss the implications of diversity, equity and inclusion on decision making.
  • Critically examine and reflect upon various theoretical approaches to understand the economics of diversity, equity and inclusion.

 

In terms of Skills:

  • Apply theoretical frameworks to analyze the economic challenges that emerge from diversity.
  • Evaluate the methods used to manage the challenges of diversity in organizations and their economic impact.
  • Present arguments for and against the suitability of various methods to manage diversity with reference to economic impact.

 

In term of Competences:

  • Demonstrate an ability to transfer knowledge and skills gained in the course to real life managerial and organizational challenges dealing with diversity.
  • Plan possible solutions to effectively manage the challenges of diversity, and further equity and inclusion in real life case examples of organizations.
  • Anticipate the possible economic implications of implementing solutions around furthering inclusion and equity, and be able to address these challenges in a paper.

The following is an indicative list of literature that serves as an introduction to the seminar. Further literature can be suggested depending on the student’s paper topic:

  • Ager, P., & Brueckner, M. (2018). Immigrants’ Genes: Genetic Diversity and Economic Development in the United States. Economic Inquiry, 56(2), 1149–1164.
  • Arrow, K.J. (1998). What Has Economics to Say about Racial Discrimination? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12 (2): 91-100.
  • Bonilla, D., & Svitavsky, K. (2018). advancing economic EQUITY AND INCLUSION. Economic Development Journal, 17(4), 10–15.
  • De La Roca, J. and Puga, D. 2017, ‘Learning by Working in Big Cities’, The Review of Economic Studies, 84: 106-142.
  • Fang, C., Kuo, K.-H., & Lee, C.-T. (2020). Free Trade and Economic Growth: The Role of Talent Diversity. Bulletin of Economic Research, 72(1), 1–13.
  • Greer, L. L., Homan, A. C., De Hoogh, A. H. B., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2012). Tainted visions: The effect of visionary leader behaviors and leader categorization tendencies on the financial performance of ethnically diverse teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(1), 203–213. 
  • Hossain, M., Atif, M., Ahmed, A., & Mia, L. (2020). Do LGBT Workplace Diversity Policies Create Value for Firms? Journal of Business Ethics, 167(4), 775–791.
  • Karlsson, C., Rickardsson, J., & Wincent, J. (2021). Diversity, innovation and entrepreneurship: where are we and where should we go in future studies? Small Business Economics, 56(2), 759–772.
  • Khatib, S. F. A., Abdullah, D. F., Elamer, A. A., & Abueid, R. (2021). Nudging toward diversity in the boardroom: A systematic literature review of board diversity of financial institutions. Business Strategy & the Environment, 30(2), 985–1002.
  • Langnel, Z., Amegavi, G. B., & Agomor, K. S. (2021). Environmental degradation and female economic inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa: Effort towards Sustainable Development Goal 5. Development Southern Africa, 1–14.
  • Montalvo, J. G., & Reynal-Querol, M. (2005). Ethnic Diversity and Economic Development. Journal of Development Economics, 76(2), 293–323.
  • Nagano, H. (2020). The impact of knowledge diversity: Integrating two economic perspectives through the dynamic capability approach. Managerial & Decision Economics, 41(6), 1057–1070.
  • Ncube, M., Soonawalla, K., & Hausken, K. (2021). The Links between Business Environment, Economic Growth and Social Equity: A Study of African Countries. Journal of African Business, 22(1), 61–84.
  • Noland, M., & Moran, T. (2016). Study: Firms with More Women in the C-Suite Are More Profitable. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2–4.
  • Pradhan, R. P., & Sahoo, P. P. (2021). Are there links between financial inclusion, mobile telephony, and economic growth? Evidence from Indian states. Applied Economics Letters, 28(4), 310–314.
  • Robinson, B. (2021). Implementing Long-Term Inclusion Initiatives. Economic Development Journal, 13–19.
  • Rock, D., Grant, H., & Grey, J. (2016). Diverse Teams Feel Less Comfortable -- and That’s Why They Perform Better. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2–5.
  • Rodriguez-Pose, A., & von Berlepsch, V. (2019). Does Population Diversity Matter for Economic Development in the Very Long Term? Historic Migration, Diversity and County Wealth in the US. European Journal of Population, 35(5), 873–911.
  • Soysa, I., & Almås, S. (2019). Does Ethnolinguistic Diversity Preclude Good Governance? A Comparative Study with Alternative Data, 1990‐2015. Kyklos, 72(4), 604–636.
  • Shivarajan, S., & Srinivasan, A. (2013). The Poor as Suppliers of Intellectual Property: A Social Network Approach to Sustainable Poverty Alleviation. Business Ethics Quarterly, 23(3), 381–406.
  • Smith, C. E., Hill, S. E., & Amos, A. (2020). Impact of specialist and primary care stop smoking support on socio‐economic inequalities in cessation in the United Kingdom: a systematic review and national equity initial review completed 22 January 2019; final version accepted 19 July 2019 analysis. Addiction, 115(1), 34–46.
  • Van, L. T.-H., Vo, A. T., Nguyen, N. T., & Vo, D. H. (2021). Financial Inclusion and Economic GROWTH: An International Evidence. Emerging Markets Finance & Trade, 57(1), 239–263.
  • Villadsen, A. R. & Wulff, J. (2018). Is the Public Sector a Fairer Employer? Ethnic employment discrimination in the public and private sectors. Academy of Management Discoveries, 4, 429–448.
  • Xu, W., Ding, M., Guarda, T., Lopes, I., & Rocha, Á. (2019). Relevance analysis of social equity and urbanization based on fuzzy logic and factor analysis model. Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, 37(5), 6229–6240. 
BSc in Economics or similar
There are no recommended academic qualifications other than the requirements of the study programme.
At the seminar the student is trained independently to
- identify and clarify a problem,
- seek and select relevant literatur,
- write a academic paper,
- present and discuss own paper with the other students at the seminar.

Mandatory activities in the seminar:
- Kick-off meeting
- Finding literatur and defining the project
- Writing process of the seminar paper
- Presentation of own project and paper
- Giving constructive feedback to another student´s paper
- Actively participating in discussions at the presentations and other meetings.

The aim of the presentations is, that you use the presentation as an opportunity to practice oral skills and to receive feedback at the paper. The presentations are not a part of the exam and will not be assessed.

The seminar project paper must be uploaded in Absalon before the presentations, as the opponents and the other seminar participants have to read and comment on the paper. It is important that you upload a paper that is so finalized as possible due to the fact that the value of feedback and comments at the presentation is strongly associated with the skill level of the seminar paper.
The teacher defines what materials may be used for the presentations.

After the presentations, you can with a few corrections improve the seminar paper by including the feedback and comments emerged during the presentations. It is NOT intended that you rewrite or begin the writing of the seminar paper after the presentation has taken place.

Pandemic:
In case of a pandemic like Corona the teaching in this seminar may be changed to be taught either fully or partly online. For further information, see the course room on Absalon.
Semester plan Spring 2023:

- Kick-off meeting: 08 and 09 February 2023 from 1515-1800 hrs.

- Deadline for submission of commitment paper / project description: No later than 01 March 2023.

- Deadline for uploading a seminar assignment paper in Absalon: Not later than 1000 hrs on 01 May 2023.

- Presentations: 10 and 11 May 2023 from 1315-1700 hrs.

- Exam date: 01 June 2023 at 10.00 (am) - latest uploading of Seminar paper to the Digital Exam portal for assessment.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Project work
  • 186
  • Seminar
  • 20
  • Total
  • 206
Written
Oral
Individual
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)

Each student receives individual oral feedback on the paper at the seminar presentation from peers and supervisor.

In addition, students may write to the supervisor if they need feedback on any ideas they may be having or challenges they may be facing with regards to their papers. Students will then receive written feedback from the supervisor.

Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written examination
Type of assessment details
A seminar paper in English that meets the formal requirements for written papers stated in the curriculum and at KUNet for seminars.
_____
Exam registration requirements

Attendance in all  activities at the seminar as stated in the formal requrements in the Curriculum  and at the KUnet for Seminars (UK)  and  Seminars (DK)  is required to participate in the exam.

_____

Aid
All aids allowed

for the seminar paper.

The teacher defines the aids that must be used for the presentations.

____

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
_____
Exam period

Regular exam:

Spring 2023:
Deadline for submitting the final seminar paper: 1. june 2023 before 10 AM

Exam information:

The seminar paper must be uploaded to the Digital Exam. More information will be available from the middle of the semester.

 

More information about examination, rules, aids etc. at Master (UK) and Master (DK ).

____

Re-exam

Reexam information:

The reexam is a written seminar paper as stated in the Curriculum.

Deadline and more information is available at Seminars(UK) and Seminars(DK).

More information about reexam etc is available at Master(UK)andMaster(DK).

Criteria for exam assesment

Students are assessed on the extent to which they master the learning outcome for the seminar and can make use of the knowledge, skills and competencies listed in the learning outcomes in the Curriculum of the Master programme.

 

To receive the top grade, the student must with no or only a few minor weaknesses be able to demonstrate an excellent performance displaying a high level of command of all aspects of the relevant material.