Course Outline
Econ 335: Fertility, Families and Human Migration
Winter II 2021
Vancouver School of Economics, UBC
Lectures:
Class Location:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8:00 am to 8:50 AM
Buchanan A102 OR Zoom via Canvas
Instructor:
Email:
Student Hours:
Location:
Marina Adshade
marina.adshade@ubc.ca
Friday 10:00 – 11:00 (or by appointment)
Zoom via Canvas
TA:
Email:
Student Hours:
Location:
Aditi Singh
aditi095@gmail.com
To be determined
Zoom via Canvas
Prerequisites: All of ECON 101 and ECON 102.
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COURSE CALENDAR DESCRIPTION: Traditional fertility and mortality patterns, demographic transition,
catastrophes, well-being and nutrition, international and internal migration, epidemics and growth spurts.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this course, you will be able to:
1. Apply a historical perspective to the economics of the household, with a particular focus on the
impact of long-run changes in standards of living;
2. Understand present-day inequalities and inequities within the context of historic conditions;
3. Analyze the economic theory and incentives related to fertility decisions to understand the causes
and consequences of demographic transitions;
4. Analyze the economic theory and incentives related to voluntary migration, to understand the
economic costs and benefits of migration to both society and individuals;
5. Recognize the economic factors that have contributed to the evolution of historic patterns of
marriage and labour force participation of women;
6. Analyze the long-run impact of disease environments on the economy and society;
7. Apply a global perspective to all analyses and recognize both the common and diverse experiences
of those living in a wide variety of cultures and countries;
8. Write complex arguments applying economic theory and analysis to reflect the historic lived
experiences of individuals and families;
9. Read published academic economic literature to understand the central argument and interpret
the empirical results that support that argument;
10. Move beyond the preconceptions, stereotypes and biases of which we are all culpable.
REQUIRED RESOURCES: Please be certain to familiarize yourself with these resources in the first week
of the term.
1. Readings: All readings (including book chapters) are on reserve at the library and accessible
through the link on Canvas labelled “Library Online Course Reserves”.
© MARINA ADSHADE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2. Weekly Quizzes (Mondays): During periods of remote learning, you are required to have
Respondus LockDown browser installed on your computer. Please self-enrol in this Canvas
course and attempt the Practice Quiz to ensure that you are familiar with this technology. You
are also required to have a secondary device with a webcam and a microphone connected
during all online quizzes.
3. Weekly Reading Quizzes (Fridays): You are required to install the application “iClicker Student”
and be prepared to use that application during the lectures. You must sync your iClicker account
with your Canvas account in order to get your grades (look for “iClicker Sync” on Canvas).
4. Annotated Bibliography and Final Paper: You will need to create a Turnitin.com account using
Class ID: 32957298 and Enrollment Key: UBCecon335. You should also familiarize yourself with
using citation management software for creating bibliographies and conducting research.
5. Respectful Engagement: You have been given a module on Canvas titled “Respectful
Engagement”. Please read the “UBC Statement on Respectful Engagement” and take the
accompanying quiz. You will not be able to access the remainder of the course material until you
have a grade of 100% on that quiz.
6. Academic Misconduct: You have been given a module on Canvas titled “Avoiding Academic
Misconduct”. Please read the page in that module title “Avoiding Academic Misconduct Research Projects” carefully and take the accompanying quiz. You will not be able to access the
remainder of the course material until you have a grade of 100% on that quiz.
WEEKLY MEETINGS: This course is online learning for the first two weeks and in-person learning for the
remainder of the term (or as dictated by the university policy). Regardless of delivery format, students
should arrive in the lectures on time having completed the required readings for that week – all classes will
be taught under the assumption that you have done the pre-lecture readings (see schedule below). When
in-person, lectures will be live-streamed for those who are unable to attend for health reasons, however,
the availability of these live streams (and recordings) cannot be guaranteed. Lectures will be offered via
online learning in the case of inclement weather, instructor health issues, or public health directive. In this
instance, you will be given a sufficient warning that you do not need to travel to campus. There will be no
accommodations for students who have trouble accessing the material because they are located in a time
zone outside of Pacific Time.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE:
Week Day
Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Lectures
10-minute quiz followed by a
40-minute lecture.
50-minute lecture
5-minute iClicker quiz followed
by a 45-minute lecture.
Assessments
None
Preparation
Review of previous week’s materials /
Assigned pre-lecture readings
Assigned pre-lecture readings
Graded quiz
Assigned academic reading
Graded quiz
ASSESSMENT METHODS: Your progress in this class will be measured in four ways.
Weekly Quizzes (11)
Weekly Reading Quizzes (11)
Annotated Bibliography
Final Research Paper
45%
10%
20%
25%
Weekly Quizzes (11): Every Monday at 8:00 AM PT you will be given a 10–15-minute quiz that tests your
understanding of the material that was taught the previous week. Quizzes will be on paper during
© MARINA ADSHADE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
periods of in-person learning and on Canvas during periods of online learning. Your two lowest Weekly
Quiz grades will be dropped at the end of the term. [Learning Outcomes 1 – 6]
Weekly Reading Quizzes (11): Every Friday at 8:00 AM PT you will be given a five-minute quiz (via
iClicker). There will be four will be multiple-choice questions that test your understanding of the
assigned reading for that class (listed below in the schedule and the library course reserves). Those
questions will be of the sort: What is the hypothesis of this research? What is the economic story behind
the hypothesis? What data is used in the analysis? What are the conclusions of this reading? Your two
lowest Weekly Reading Quiz grades will be dropped at the end of the term. [Learning Outcomes 1 – 6
and 9]
Annotated Bibliography: Your final written project will be submitted in two parts. The first part, an
annotated bibliography, is due February 28th at 4:00 AM via Turnitin.com [Class ID: 32957298 and
Enrollment Key: UBCecon335]. Please see the documents on Canvas titled “Novel Project Instructions”
and “Annotated Bibliography Example” and the grading rubric on Turnitin.com for more information
on this assessment. [Learning Outcomes 1 – 6 and 9]
Final Paper: The second part of your final written project is an academic paper based on the
period/location/events/peoples of a work of fiction chosen from five possible options. The final paper
is due April 4th at 4:00 AM via Turnitin.com. Please see the documents on Canvas titled “Novel Project
Instructions” for more information on this project. [Learning Outcomes 7 to 10]
KEY DATES: In addition to quizzes (Monday and Friday):
Assessment
Annotated Bibliography
Final Paper
Dates / Time
February 28th / 4:00 AM PT
April 4th / 4:00 AM PT
Platform
Turnitin.com
Turnitin.com
PENALTY FOR LATE/MISSED WORK:
Weekly Quizzes & Weekly Reading Quizzes: Any quiz that is missed for a reason that would warrant an
academic concession will be counted as one of the two that are dropped at the end of the term; there
is no need to request an academic concession until you have missed more than two quizzes. Should
you miss more than two quizzes, please contact Arts Advising and request a concession for every quiz
that you have missed. Concessions will not be granted for students who did not write previous quizzes
for reasons that do not warrant a concession.1
Bibliography and Final Paper: If you require an extension beyond the deadline for your written work
(annotated bibliography or final paper) you must make this request in writing before the due date for
that work and contact Arts Advising to request a concession. In the instance that an extension is not
granted, 0.02 percentage points will be deducted for every minute late. For example, a final paper that
is submitted on April 4th at 12:20 PM will have 10 percentage points deducted for lateness.
MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS: As a student, you may experience a range of challenges that can interfere with
learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, substance use, feeling down, difficulty
concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may diminish your
1
This is to say, if you skip a couple of quizzes early in the term and then become ill you will not be given a
concession for the third quiz. I strongly recommend that you do not take this strategy and attempt all
quizzes.
© MARINA ADSHADE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
academic performance and/or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. I encourage you to take
advantage of the many resources available at UBC to help you cope with challenges, including Counselling
Services, Office of the Ombudsperson, and Access and Diversity.
CLASS POLICIES: The following policies apply to all students in this class.
Grade Review Request Policy: A clear policy on requesting a grade review is available on the class
Canvas page titled “Requesting a Review of your Grade”. Please note that requests for grade reviews
must be submitted within one calendar week of when you have received your grade.
VSE Policy Prohibiting the Hiring of Tutors: The Vancouver School of Economics expressly prohibits any
student from hiring a tutor/editor to assist with any portion of written work or academic research. If at
any point you feel in of need additional writing support, please contact UBC’s Centre for Writing and
Scholarly Communication and arrange for a writing consultation, or speak with your instructor. Any
student who violates the rules for academic conduct on submitted work will be given an automatic
grade of zero on that component of the course. Further penalties may be levied by the President’s
Advisory Committee on Student Discipline. Possible further penalties could include a notation on your
transcript indicating that you have committed an academic offence, failure of the course, a grade of
zero in the course and/or suspension from the university. Speak to your instructor you have any
questions regarding the standard for academic behaviour expected of students taking VSE courses.
Statement on Academic Honesty: Each student must complete a module on “Avoiding Academic Misconduct”
the first week of the term. Having completed that module is required to access the subsequent modules in
the course. While you are responsible for that information on that page, you must know that it is the policy
of the VSE to report all violations of UBC’s standards for academic honesty to the office of the Dean of Arts.
Links to those policies can be found on Canvas. In addition to the explicitly stated violations (for example,
plagiarism), any student who hires a tutor/editor to help with any portion of their work will be given an
automatic grade of zero on their final paper and/or annotated bibliography. Further penalties, in addition to
any grade penalties that I might apply (such as a zero grade on your final paper), may be levied by the
President's Advisory Committee on Student Discipline. Those further penalties could include a notation on
your transcript indicating that you have committed an academic offence, failure of the course, and/or
suspension from the university. I encourage you to speak to me in person if you have any questions regarding
the standard for academic honesty at UBC.
Policy on Sharing Course Materials: You will note that all the materials provided to you in this course,
including this document, include the statement “©MARINA ADSHADE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED”. Sharing course
materials in any way, either by email or by uploading them to websites, will be treated as an infringement of
your instructor’s intellectual property and dealt with accordingly.
UNIVERSITY POLICIES: The following policies apply to all students at UBC:
Policies and Resources to Support Student Success: UBC provides resources to support student learning and
to maintain healthy lifestyles but recognizes that sometimes crises arise and so there are additional
resources to access including those for survivors of sexual violence. UBC values respect for the person and
ideas of all members of the academic community. Harassment and discrimination are not tolerated nor is the
suppression of academic freedom. UBC provides appropriate accommodation for students with disabilities
and religious and cultural observances. UBC values academic honesty and students are expected to
acknowledge the ideas generated by others and to uphold the highest academic standards in all of their
actions. Details of the policies and how to access support are available here.
© MARINA ADSHADE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
TERM SCHEDULE: All lectures will be taught under the assumption that you have completed the Pre-Class
Readings before Monday of the week they are assigned. Quiz Readings should be completed before the
Weekly Reading Quiz on Fridays. All readings (including book chapters) are on reserve at the library and
accessible through the link on Canvas labelled “Library Online Course Reserves”.
Week 1: 50,000 Years of Population Growth
• How to succeed in ECON 335
• Demographic change from 50,000 BCE to 1650
• Malthusian theory of population and technology growth
Pre-Class Readings: Children of Eve (CoE) Chp. 1 and Farewell to Alms Chp. 2
Quiz Reading: No reading quiz this Friday
Week 2: A Unified Model of Growth
• Demographic transitions from 1650 to 1930
• Technology, human capital and economic growth
• Mortality and precautionary childbearing
Pre-Class Readings: CoE Chp. 2 and 3 and Galor & Weil (1999)
Quiz Reading: The Journey of Humanity: Roots of inequality in the wealth of nations
Week 3: Modern Fertility Transitions
• Demographic transitions from 1930 to the near future
• Teen pregnancy and age at first birth/marriage
• Gender roles and fertility transitions
Pre-Class Readings: CoE Chp. 4
Quiz Reading: Gender Role Attitudes and Fertility Revisited: Evidence from the United States
Week 4: Gender, Technology and Economic Growth
• Breadwinner model of the family
• Gender norms, gender roles, and technological change
• Do women working make countries wealthy?
Pre-Class Readings: CoE Chp. 9
Quiz Reading: Gender equality, growth, and how a technological trap destroyed female work
Week 5: Slavery I: Long-Run Effects on the Sending Nations
• The role of institutions in long-run economic growth
• Societal and economic legacy of the slave trades
• How a history of slavery continues to create poverty today
Pre-Class Readings: CoE Chp. 5
Quiz Reading: The Long-term Effects of Africa's Slave Trades
Week 6: Slavery II: The Great Migration North
© MARINA ADSHADE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
•
•
•
Human migration in the post-civil war decades
The long-term effects of slavery on human capital and wealth of African Americans
Did incarceration replace slavery in the United States of American?
Pre-Class Readings: CoE Chp. 6
Quiz Reading: Segregation and Mortality over Time and Space
Week 7: Reading Week
Week 8: Nomadland (Immigration, Migration and Trade)
• The pains and gains from technological change and international trade
• The impact of immigration on the receiving country
• Is migration the solution to economic loss?
Quiz Reading: Good Economics for Hard Times Chp.2 From the Mouth of the Shark
Week 9: Food Insecurity in Indigenous Populations
• Standards of living of indigenous populations pre-European settlement
• The role of property rights in economic development
• Food insecurity today in the Canadian north
Pre-Class Reading: Beyond Dependency: Economic Development, Capacity Building, and
Generational Sustainability for Indigenous People in Canada
Quiz Reading: The Slaughter of the Bison and Reversal of Fortunes on the Great Plains
Week 10: Inter-Racial/Ethnic/Cultural Marriage
• Why not inter-marriage? (A historical perspective)
• Marital sorting / assortative mating and the accumulation of wealth
• Quality and persistence of inter-marriage
Pre-Class Reading: CoE Chp. 7
Quiz Reading: Is immigration enforcement shaping immigrant marriage patterns?
Week 10: History of Plagues
• The long run economic and societal impacts of pandemics/epidemics
• Disease and global and domestic economic inequality
• Disease and international trade
Pre-Class Reading: CoE Chp. 10
Quiz Reading: Disease, downturns, and wellbeing: Economic history and the long-run impacts of
COVID-19
Week 12: HIV/AIDs and Malaria
• What we know about behaviour and the transmission of HIV
• HIV/AIDs and Malaria on the African continent
• The impact of HIV/AIDs and Malaria on long run economic development
Quiz Reading: In the shadow of HIV & TB: A commentary on the COVID epidemic in South Africa
© MARINA ADSHADE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Week 13: Fertility, Families and Human Migration in the era of COVID-19
• How has/will the COVID-19 pandemic will impact family structure and fertility rates?
• How has/will the COVID-19 pandemic impact human migration?
• The long-run societal consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quiz Reading: To Be Determined
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