20271 - PUBLIC ECONOMICS
Department of Social and Political Sciences
Course taught in English
ACME (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - AFC (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - AI (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 12 credits SECS-P/03) - CLELI (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - CLMG (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - DES-ESS (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - DSBA (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - EMIT (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - ESS (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - FIN (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-P/03) - GIO (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)
Course Director:
ALESSANDRA CASARICO
ALESSANDRA CASARICO
Suggested background knowledge
Some knowledge of microeconomics and microeconometrics is recommended.
Mission & Content Summary
MISSION
Government intervention in modern economies is widespread. As a crude measure, government revenues and expenditure in European countries account for an average of 40% of GDP, and the latest geopolitical challenges and the impact of the pandemic have reinforced the need for an enhanced government role in market economies. Although government intervention can reduce inequality, promote social mobility, and address market failures, it can also distort market incentives and lead to inefficiency. How to address this potential trade-off is in the hands of national governments, which act in a globalised world, where labour and capital flows may limit governments’ room for manouevre. Understanding when the government should intervene, how it should do so and with what consequences is crucial to grasp how modern economies work. The aim of this course is to provide students with theoretical and empirical tools to analyse areas of public intervention. During classes we will identify key challenges of modern economies, with a special focus on inequalities; we will explore the role of public policy in addressing them and investigate the impact of a given public policy through the empirical toolkit developed in the literature to analyse the impact of policy interventions.
CONTENT SUMMARY
The course focuses on selected areas of public intervention, which are at the forefront of policy debate and academic research. We start from documenting inequality patterns from different angles and study how public policy can tackle them. Topics include:
- Education and skill formation
- Redistribution and predistribution
- Gender and family policy
- Social security and redistribution
- Tax systems and tax evasion
A guest speaker will complement this list of topics.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
- Recognise the main trends in public intervention in the economy
- Identify the main justifications for government intervention
- Illustrate modes of intervention in different areas of public policy and their effects
- Distinguish various dimensions of inequality and discuss policy, which can address them
- Select the appropriate empirical research methods to evaluate public policy
- Know how to conduct policy evaluation
- Understand theoretical models that can illustrate how public policy affects individual and firm choices
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
Address policy relevant questions by:
- Identifying the institutional details which characterise a given policy
- Framing the policy question in theoretical terms
- Choosing the appropriate data to perform empirical analysis on the impact of the policy
Analyse and interpret the results of empirical analyses
Advocate for specific public policy interventions
Teaching methods
- Lectures
- Individual works / Assignments
- Collaborative Works / Assignments
DETAILS
Group assignments are of two types: 1) Group presentations; 2) A take-home assignment using Stata to replicate the analysis of scientific papers. For group presentations, each group must prepare a presentation and a discussion starting from the reading of academic papers. Topics/papers for presentation and discussion will be provided during the course. Students must submit presentation and discussion slides.
Non-attending students who cannot participate to group assignments will have the option of performing similar tasks individually, subject to the professors' approval.
Assessment methods
| Continuous assessment | Partial exams | General exam | |
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ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
Two written partial exams or one written general exam, plus group assignments. Students must take the written exam (partial or general) and at least one between the take-home group (individual) assignment and the group presentation/individual essay.
The written exam aims at verifying that students are able to present theoretical models, to analyse and interpret the results of empirical analyses, and to discuss alternative policy reform proposals. The written exam is worth up to 25 points.
The take-home assignment is worth up to 3 points. It must be submitted a week after the end of the course.
Group presentations are worth up to 3 points.
Each group must prepare a presentation and a discussion on a given topic starting from the reading of academic papers. The topic can be chosen from a list provided by the professors during the course. Students must submit presentation and discussion slides. (Some) presentations/discussions are delivered in class.
By the end of the midterm break, students must have formed groups of three. Group presentations are scheduled for the final two classes of the course.
Non-attending students who are unable to give group presentations in class may instead write an individual essay/report on a paper chosen from a list provided in class. This option, as well as the possibility of completing the take-home assignment individually, must be agreed with the professors. The report is worth up to 3 points. Essays must be submitted by the date of the exam.
Note that, according to University’s rules, you can enrol the second partial exam (PI) only ONCE in the January session.
Teaching materials
ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
Most of the course is based on articles from scientific journals, working papers, lecture slides and notes. The compulsory readings are provided in the detailed course schedule and are divided by topic. All the readings are available on Blackboard for download. Updates to the reading list are possible to adjust to the pace of the class and will be promptly communicated.
Last change 02/06/2025 18:24