This course is an introduction to public economics. The objective is to provide a theoretical framework for concepts in public economics and to link the theory to real-world applications in public policy analysis. The focus will be on the development of analytical tools for policy evaluation.
The course will start with an introduction of the discipline of public economics, and welfare and distributional analysis. This is followed by an examination of the traditional rationale for public intervention through an in-depth treatment of different types of market failures and how public intervention can mitigate them. Asymmetric information will be analysed.
Externalities and regulation will be discussed with a special focus on environmental issues.
This is followed by a discussion of the optimal taxation literature: how taxes can serve as a redistributive tool and what is the most efficient way to achieve this redistribution ?
Last, the proper scope of government will also be explained: what are public goods/services? To what extent can the private sector participate in their provision and why?
By the end of the course, students should be able to understand the main issues underlying the contemporary economic policy themes examined in this course and the basic empirical methods used in public policy evaluation.
In addition to attending lectures, students are expected to actively participate in these classes.
A detailed syllabus will be provided during the introductory session, together with references to suggested readings.
There are no formal prerequisites for this class. However, students should be able to do basic arithmetic calculations and interpret tables and graphs.
Autumn 2022-2023
The course will be evaluated based on coursework (40%) and a final exam (60%). the coursework includes short written answers to class discussion questions, case studies and participation in class. The final exam will contain short exercises and short essay questions.
In addition to the 12 lecture classes, students are required to participate in 6 practical classes.
There will be no record of any class.
Stiglitz, J. and Rosengard, J. (2015) Economics of the public sector, W. W. Norton & Company; Fourth International Student édition