Course 2010-2011 a.y.
20271 - PUBLIC ECONOMICS
CLMG - M - IM - MM - AFC - CLAPI - CLEFIN-FINANCE - CLELI - ACME - DES-ESS - EMIT
Department of Social and Political Sciences
Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 31
CLMG (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - M (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - IM (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - MM (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - AFC (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - CLAPI (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - CLEFIN-FINANCE (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - CLELI (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - ACME (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - DES-ESS (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - EMIT (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03)
Course Objectives
The aim of the course is to lay the groundwork for an understanding of Public Economics at a master level.
The course is composed by three main parts.
- The first part analyses the government expenditure with a special focus on social security and education. The approach is mainly theoretical and builds on recent literature in Public Economics and Macroeconomics.
- The second part of the course examines public policies in an open economy, with a view on multiple jurisdictions and migration decisions issues: we discuss how national policies can be sustained in the presence of international labour and capital movements.
- The last part covers issues related to gender gaps in participation and wages: causes and policies aimed at reducing them.
Course Content Summary
The Welfare State: An Introduction.
- Social Security.
- Pension systems, savings and the accumulation of physical capital.
- Pensions and the labour supply.
- Pensions and demographics.
- Pension design and reform.
- Pensions and risk-sharing.
- Education.
- Private versus public provision.
- Financing of schools.
- The redistributive effects of education and education financing.
- Public Policy in Open Economy.
- Fiscal competition.
- Migration and migration policies.
- Gender.
- Gaps in wages and participation.
- Public Policies to reduce gender gaps.
Detailed Description of Assessment Methods
Written exam. For students who regularly attend the class, a presentation based on topics agreed upon during the course can complement part of the written exam.
Textbooks
Reference texts are:
- HINDRICKS, MYLES, 2005, Intermediate Public Economics, MIT Press.
- MYLES, Public Economics, CUP, 1998.
- J. GRUBER, Public Finance and Public Policy, Worth Publishers, 2005.
- AEURBACH, FELDSTEIN (eds.) Handbook of Public Economics, vol.2 and 4, North-Holland.
- N. BARR, The Welfare State as Piggy Bank, Part III, OUP, 2001.
Most of the course are based on articles from scientific journals and working papers. A complete and up-to-date list with an indication of the compulsory readings will be provided at the beginning of the course by each instructor.
Last change 23/06/2010 11:17