EC981-15 Public Economics
Introductory description
This module is aimed to train students in both theory and applications in the field of public finance. The purpose of the module is to understand the role of the government through expenditure and taxation, as well as develop an idea on topics such as externalities and the political economy. It will expose students to frontier research on the theory behind the design of various public policies.
Module aims
The module applies methodology learnt in core modules to empirical and theoretical applications in the field of public finance. The main goal is to understand the role of government in the economy through taxation and expenditure. The module will introduce students to frontier research that has immediate practical relevance to the design of public policies such as income and business taxation, social insurance programmes, inequality and the provision of public goods.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
The module will typically cover the following topics:
- inequality and the role of government in the economy;
- tax incidence; distortions and welfare losses;
- behavioural responses to income and business taxation;
- social insurance programmes;
- public goods.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Subject Knowledge and Understanding:...analyse the impact of public policies on efficiency and equity, using both theoretical and empirical tools. The teaching and learning methods that enable students to achieve this learning outcome are: Lectures. The summative assessment methods that measure the achievement of this learning outcome are: Exam, Report and Test.
- Subject Knowledge and Understanding:...understand the applications of basic microeconomic and game theory tools in public economics settings. The teaching and learning methods that enable students to achieve this learning outcome are: Lectures. The summative assessment methods that measure the achievement of this learning outcome are: Exam, Report and Test .
- Subject Knowledge and Understanding:...understand and interpret the recent developments of research in the field of public finance, and the implications they have for the design of public policies. The teaching and learning methods that enable students to achieve this learning outcome are: Lectures. The summative assessment methods that measure the achievement of this learning outcome are: Exam .
Indicative reading list
Please see Talis Aspire link for most up to date list.
View reading list on Talis Aspire
Subject specific skills
Students will have the opportunity to develop skills in:
Analytical thinking and communication
Analytical reasoning
Critical thinking
Strategic thinking
Problem-solving
Abstraction
Policy evaluation
Analysis of incentives
Analysis of Institutions
Analysis of optimisation
Understanding of Uncertainty and Incomplete Information
Transferable skills
Students will have the opportunity to develop:
Numeracy and quantitative skills
Written communication skills
Oral communication skills
Mathematical, statistical and data-based research skills
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 18 sessions of 1 hour (12%) |
| Other activity | 3 hours (2%) |
| Private study | 129 hours (86%) |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
Private study will be required in order to prepare for seminars/classes, to review lecture notes, to prepare for forthcoming assessments, tests, and exams, and to undertake wider reading around the subject.
Other activity description
Additional classes
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group D2
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Report | 20% | No | |
| Test | 10% | No | |
| In-person Examination | 70% | No | |
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A paper which examines the course content and ensures learning outcomes are achieved.
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Assessment group R2
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-person examination | 100% | No | |
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Feedback on assessment
The Department of Economics is committed to providing high quality and timely feedback to students on their assessed work, to enable them to review and continuously improve their work. We are dedicated to ensuring feedback is returned to students within 20 University working days of their assessment deadline. Feedback for assignments is returned either on a standardised assessment feedback cover sheet which gives information both by tick boxes and by free comments or via free text comments on Tabula, together with the annotated assignment. For tests and problem sets, students receive solutions as an important form of feedback and their marked assignment, with a breakdown of marks and comments by question and sub-question. Students are informed how to access their feedback, either by collecting from the Department of Economics Postgraduate Office or via Tabula. Module leaders often provide generic feedback for the cohort outlining what was done well, less well, and what was expected on the assignment and any other common themes. This feedback also includes a cumulative distribution function with summary statistics so students can review their performance in relation to the cohort. This feedback is in addition to the individual-specific feedback on assessment performance.
Pre-requisites
Students should have completed courses in intermediate level microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics.
Courses
This module is Optional for:
- Year 1 of TECA-L1P6 Postgraduate Taught Economics
This module is Option list A for:
- Year 1 of TECA-L1P7 Postgraduate Taught Economics and International Financial Economics