Info
Foto sezione
Logo Bocconi

Course 2013-2014 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 Director:
CARLO DEVILLANOVA

Classes: 31 (I sem.)
Instructors:
Class 31: CARLO FIORIO


Course Objectives

The aim of the course is to lay the groundwork for an understanding of Public Economics at a master level. The course tries to strike a balance between the development of theoretical tools and the use of empirical methods to assess the impact of government intervention.

The course develops along three main parts.

  • The first part deals with the analysis of inequality and poverty. It also presents the tax-benefit micro-simulation models, used for public policy analysis. This first part ends with the economic analysis of tax evasion.
  • The second part of the course examines public policies in an open economy, with a fous on international labour mobility.
  • The last part focuses on alternative measures of well-being and their implications in terms of public policies.

Course Content Summary
  • Inequality and poverty
    • Measuring Income
    • Equivalence Scales
    • Inequality measurements
    • Poverty and the Poverty Line
    • Poverty measures
  • Tax-Benefit micro-simulation models
    • The relevance of tax-benefit micro-simulation models (MSMs) for public policy analysis
    • Main types of MSMs
  • Tax Evasion
    • The evasion decision
    • Auditing and punishment
    • Evidence on evasion
    • Effect on honesty
    • Tax compliance Game
    • Compliance and Social interaction
  • Public policies in open economies
    • Redistribution and factor mobitlity
    • The fiscale effect of immigration: Evidence
    • The assimilation of immigrants
    • Inequality nd inequity in access
    • Social networks and welfare participation
    • Migration poilicies and illegal migration
    • Brain drain vs brain gain
  • Subjective Well-Being
    • Meaning and measurement
    • Application to labour markets, public goods and policiy.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods
For non attending students:

Written exam

For attending students:

Written exam. A presentation based on topics agreed upon during the course can complement part of the written exam. Partial and written exam. The partial is valid until the end of the AY 2013-2014

Written exam. A presentation based on topics agreed upon during the course can complement part of the written exam. Partial and written exam. The partial is valid until the end of the AY 2013-2014

Textbooks

Reference texts are:

  • J. HINDRICKS, G. D. MYLES, Intermediate Public Economics, MIT Press, 2005.
  • G. D. MYLES, Public Economics, CUP, 1998.
  • J. GRUBER, Public Finance and Public Policy, Worth Publishers, last edition.
  • A. J. AUERBACH, M. 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 is based on articles from scientific journals and working papers. A complete and up-to-date list with an indication of the compulsory readings is provided at the beginning of the course.

Exam textbooks & Online Articles (check availability at the Library)
Last change 17/06/2013 11:50
 

In this section