| Unit name | The Economics of Public Policy |
|---|---|
| Unit code | SPOLM1062 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Mr. Jorge Quintero Sanchez |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School for Policy Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Public policy leaders often require the use of economic tools to make critical policy decisions. This unit will equip you with various tools and skills in economic analysis to critically assess a range of public policy decisions such as the design of taxation, welfare programmes, and education and health policy. The unit will examine core ideas from mainstream economics, their relevance to public policy, and their application to public policy analysis. It will also demonstrate the limitations of mainstream economics, as well as an insight into alternative approaches, such as behavioural economics.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This unit is one of the optional units you can choose to take in the second term of study. This unit provides an opportunity for you to understand how ideas from economics relate to public policy and link these ideas to other units such as policy analysis.
An overview of content
This unit examines core ideas from mainstream economics, their relevance to public policy, and their application to public policy analysis. The unit also delves into the limitations of mainstream economics and introduces alternative perspectives such as behavioural economics to complement the mainstream approach. The specific topics covered in the unit include (but are not limited to) market efficiency, market failure, rationale for government intervention, optimal taxation, and the application of economic thinking to practical public policy issues such as education and health policy, measurement of poverty and design of welfare programmes, and evaluating alterative policy reforms through techniques such as cost benefit analysis. Ultimately, the unit seeks to build skills that are necessary to become a critical consumer of economic analysis.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
You will feel confident having developed an understanding of core concepts in mainstream economics, and the limitations of this approach. You will feel confident in applying selected economic frameworks and concepts to critically analyse a range of public policy issues such as the design of taxation policy, welfare programmes, and specific policies within the education and health sectors. You will feel equipped with the necessary foundational skills in economics to engage critically with public policy leaders and professional economists.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through face to face weekly lectures and seminars. The lectures will focus on arming you with core economic theory and concepts, whereas the seminars will focus on building skills in critical assessment and application of the core concepts to practical policy issues. Student learning will be supported via the online learning platform, Blackboard, where lecture materials, reading lists, and seminar tasks will be listed weekly. Each week you will be asked to undertake a specific reading and a seminar task to discuss in the seminar session.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
You will be supported in your summative tasks by a formative essay plan/outline
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Essay (3000 words maximum, 100%).
This assessment covers all of the unit learning outcomes.
When assessment does not go to plan
Subject to the university regulations for taught programmes, you may be offered an opportunity for reassessment. If you are eligible to resubmit and where appropriate, you may submit a revised version of your previous assignment, or complete an alternative assessment in the same format as the original assessment.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SPOLM1062).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
