Unit name | The Economics of Public Policy |
---|---|
Unit code | SPOLD2028 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | D/8 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Professor. Alex Marsh |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School for Policy Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit will introduce selected parts of microeconomics at a level that is demanding but appropriate for Masters students with little or no background in the subject. Particular attention is placed on market efficiency, welfare economics and the economic rationale for public policies. The unit will foster the ability among students to apply economic reasoning to the analysis of public policy. The course will consider cost-benefit analysis among different economic evaluation techniques as well as policies to affect the distribution of income, the fiscal system, and regulation by government. The unit also applies economics to the process of government itself and studies, in particular, the influential public choice perspective on government failure. In the final section, efficiency is compared with ethical positions such as distributive justice and freedom as a standard for judging policy.
On completion of the unit, the student should be able to:
This unit will be delivered in sessions of 2 hours. Each session will comprise a formal lecture and group activities or discussion.
A written assignment of at least 4,000 words.