Massive Online Open Course explores alternatives to reduce inequality

Colegio de Mexico (Colmex) and CAF-development bank of Latin America- held the Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) with more than 8,000 participants (53% women and 47% men) to shed light onto this particular problem and discuss alternatives to solve it. This MOOC on inequality comes after more than thirty years of widespread economic inequality across Mexico. Mexico ranks among one-fourth of countries with the highest levels of inequality worldwide, according to the Standardized World Income Inequality Database.

This subject takes on importance considering the fact that Mexico finds itself in a cycle of inequality, sluggish growth, and poverty – a slump from which the country has not managed to recover despite implementing good macroeconomic policies and structural reforms. Despite ranking 14th in the global economy, Mexico has more than 50 million people living on less than four dollars a day, according to a Colmex study. The course also analyzed how the consequences of this phenomenon go beyond economic aspects. Violence – one of the main problems in Mexico – is also a result of high inequality.

“In this case, the collaboration with Colegio de Mexico seeks to strengthen the competency of an academic segment of the population, offering a series of findings related to inequality, its measurement and interpretation, which will serve as a foundation to understand this phenomenon in other parts of the region and establish the criteria for a pragmatic solution. One of the basic goals of CAF’s cooperation efforts is human capital: well-trained citizens can better contribute to the solutions proposed by public policies,” said Emilio Uquillas, CAF’s Director-Representative in the country.

This course gave theoretical and practical tools for students to understand and interpret inequality as an object of study, besides analyzing different perspectives to mitigate this problem. Participants reviewed baseline concepts, basic characteristics of inequality, its origin, causes and consequences in Mexico, and some alternatives to tackle this issue.

Colmex and CAF intend to use this kind of initiative to stay on the forefront when it comes to the development and promotion of digital education. The organizations also intend to provide venues to discuss and come up with solutions that promote sustainable development and regional integration across Latin America.