In societies, people can be ranked into hierarchical layers or strata based on characteristics, including income, wealth, occupation, race, and gender. This structure of inequality is systematic, patterned, and relatively stable across time. Importantly, inequality among people is both embedded and reinforced by social institutions, including policy. The purpose of this course is to examine how public policy can both challenge, as well as reinforce income across the distribution. Key policy areas include income support/taxation, education, and healthcare, as well as others. Students in the course will come away with a critical understanding of how policies not only shape individual outcomes, but also the structure of inequality itself.