Public Economics

Knowledge and understanding: The aim of this course is to provide students with knowledge and understanding of the economic role of governments in modern market economies.

Applying knowledge and understanding: By the end of the course students will be equipped with analytical tools for understanding why government provision is desirable for some goods and services but not for others; how voting determines the level and composition of government provision; why and how governments should regulate some but not all private economic activities; how expenditure, taxation and transfers affect welfare and behaviour of households and firms.

Making judgements: By the end of the course, students should know how to use economic analysis to make informed judgements about the level and composition of government spending and taxation that result from actual government policies.

Communication skills. Although the course is based on lectures, students will be able to test their understanding and ability to communicate knowledge of the relevant topics by self-assessment tests. These self-evaluation tests will be made available on the course ARIEL website as the course proceeds. Self-evaluation tests will also include mock exams, in the final examination format.

Learning skills. Topics will be presented mainly by using theoretical models, although references to empirical evidence (i.e., public sector data, actual government policies, econometric evidence) will be made consistently throughout the course. Students should be able to understand and explain the economic content, assumptions, limitations, policy implications and relevance of the models presented.

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