Questions of Social and Economic Inequality

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Richard Sander

Professor of Law

B.A. Harvard, 1978
M.A. Economics, Northwestern, 1985
J.D. Northwestern, 1988
Ph.D. Economics, Northwestern, 1990
UCLA Faculty Since 1989
sander@law.ucla.edu

My Courses

Law 130 - Property

Course Description:

An analysis of property as a social institution and particularly of the dynamics of the system for recognizing and protecting competing claims to resources. Major problem areas to be studied include the historical development of various kinds of interests in property, housing, landlord and tenant, public and private land use, planning and development, and the sale and financing of real estate.

Course Information:

Faculty	Term	Course	Section	Schedule	Units	Requisite	Satisfies SAW
Richard Sander	12S	130	LEC 5	TWRF 11:00AM - 12:05PM	5.0	No	No

Law 394 - Quantitative Methods in the Law

Course Description:

Although numbers and empirical analysis now pervade many fields of law, most lawyers have few skills in presenting or interpreting data or quantitative arguments. This course develops those skills. This course has some similarity to Law 279 (taught by Prof. Doherty), but Law 279 is part of a one-year sequence aimed at training students to do quantitative social science on legal topics, Law 394 is a one-semester, three-unit course aimed at enabling students to understand how quantitative ideas and methods are used by courts and regulatory agencies, and how to identify these issues, competently supervise experts who do the heavy lifting, and present quantitative results. Principal subjects covered by the course are significance testing and regression analysis, but along the way we also examine basic probability, sampling and survey methods, basic finance math, and Bayesian reasoning. During the semester, students complete eight problem sets and two modest papers. (The course can meet the SAW requirement.) The final exam is optional. Prospective students wondering if they have sufficient background for the course, or seeking additional information, can examine the course introduction and syllabus on ERES or contact Prof. Sander.

Course Information:

Faculty	Term	Course	Section	Schedule	Units	Requisite	Satisfies SAW
Richard Sander	12S	394	LEC 1	TWR 3:05PM - 3:55PM	3.0	No	No

Law M526 - Housing Segregation, Housing Discrimination, and the Evolution of Public Policy

Course Description:

A growing body of evidence suggests that high levels of housing segregation in the U.S. are the root cause of persistent black/white gaps in mortality, employment, cognitive skills and general well-being. Over the past sixty years, the federal government has undertaken an array of distinct fair housing policies; ironically, these policies have often had substantial on-the-ground effects while leaving segregation itself largely intact. This seminar explores these issues in some depth, combining legal and policy materials with social science research. Black/white segregation is compared with the experiences of Hispanics, Asians, and low-income whites. A central goal of the seminar is to give students some exposure to the way social science research is done, and how it factors into the development of policy. We will read and compare relevant work by historians, sociologists, psychologists, and economists. Students will write a paper (satisfying SAW) that connects social science work with policy analysis – including, if they wish, original empirical work. Options are available for planning and other non-law students on the fall quarter schedule.

Course Information:

Faculty	Term	Course	Section	Schedule	Units	Requisite	Satisfies SAW
Richard Sander	11f	M526	SEM 1	W 5:00PM - 7:00PM	3.0	No	Per instructor's discretion

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Law M526 - Urban Housing and Community Development

Course Description:

This course will examine the past forty years of federal and state programs to stem urban decline and improve housing in the U.S. The course will compare and contrast a variety of legal and policy initiatives in the areas of public housing, housing segregation, mortgage subsidies, landlord-tenant law, urban renewal, and community organizing, seeking to develop an understanding of how and why programs succeed or fail. A paper will be required.

Law 561A/B - Perspectives on Law and Lawyering

Course Description:

These seminars are designed to give students the chance to discuss engaging texts pertaining to law, lawyering, and their emerging professional identities in a non-traditional, collegial and stimulating environment. Students and faculty in these seminars will read interesting, non-traditional (by law school standards) materials together that relate, broadly speaking, to some matters connected to law, lawyering, or professional identity. Different seminars may take quite different foci. Materials might include films, novels; non-fiction works about lawyers, cases, trials, methods or ideas, etc.

Each seminar will meet 5 times over the course of the academic year for approximately 2 ½ hours apiece, typically off-campus in the evenings and/or on weekends, and dinner or a light meal will be provided. Students are expected to attend all 5 sessions, do the reading, and participate, but there will be no final exam or final paper associated with these classes. Given the small number of sessions involved, more than one absence from the course without strong justification will be grounds for failure. The maximum number of students in any Perspectives seminar is 10. 1 unit, P/U/NV grading. Students may enroll in a maximum of one Perspectives seminar per year with a limit of 2 Perspectives seminars for your entire career.

DOCTORAL THESIS

"Housing Segregation and Housing Integration:
The Diverging Paths of American Cities"