PUBLIC ECONOMICS
Anno accademico 2021/2022 - 3° annoCrediti: 9
SSD: SECS-P/03 - Scienza delle Finanze
Organizzazione didattica: 225 ore d'impegno totale, 165 di studio individuale, 60 di lezione frontale
Semestre: 2°
ENGLISH VERSION
Obiettivi formativi
Knowledge and understanding. To provide the analytical knowledge needed to understand the fundaments of public intervention and its effects on the allocation and distribution of resources.
Applying knowledge and understanding. To enable students to apply their knowledge on the economics of public sector to understand official documents and reports and to evaluate different models of public intervention.
Making judgments To train students to use data to be able to develop autonomous opinions and critical understanding on public intervention
Communication skills To enable students to use technical terminology, diagrams and tables to express their opinions to experts and non- experts. Oral and written communication skills will be also stimulated through classroom activities - such as discussion and seminars- and written examinations.
Learning skills. To stimulate learning skills through power point presentations and discussions to enable students to upgrading autonomously their knowledge and to prepare them for post-graduate courses.
Modalità di svolgimento dell'insegnamento
Lectures with power point presentation, discussions in class and seminars. Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.
Prerequisiti richiesti
None. A basic knowledge of consumer theory and theory of the firm is recommended.
Frequenza lezioni
Strongly suggested but not mandatory
Contenuti del corso
*Public intervention, normative and positive analysis.
*State functions.
* Fundaments of welfare economics
*Market failure and reasons for public intervention
*Political Economy.
*Cost-benefit analysis
*Income redistribution.
*Tax incidence,
*Taxation and efficiency; income taxation and its effects; corporate taxes; consumption taxes.
*Welfare policies (social secuirty, healthcare ).
*Public debt.
*Fiscal federalism.
*Local public finance.
Testi di riferimento
H. S. Rosen, T. Gayer. Public Finance. McGraw Hill, 10th Global Edition (ch. 10, only pp.201-211; ch. 11, only pp.222-226 and 230-243; ch.13, only pp.273-280 and 289-292)
Other publications, mainly on Italian public finance, may be made available to students during the course.
Programmazione del corso
| Argomenti | Riferimenti testi | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Introduction to the course. Tools of positive analysis | Chapters 1 e 2 |
| 2 | 2 Tools of normative analysis | Chapter 3 |
| 3 | 3 Fundaments of welfare economics. Efficiency conditions | Chapter 3 |
| 4 | 4 Public goods - positive analysis | Chapter 4 |
| 5 | 5 Public goods - normative analysis | Chapter 4 |
| 6 | 6 Externalities | Chapter 5 |
| 7 | 7 Political economy - Direct democracy | Chapter 6 |
| 8 | 8 Political economy - Representative democracy | Chapter 6 |
| 9 | 9 Political economy - Bureaucracy; Government growth | Chapter 6 |
| 10 | 10 Education | Chapter 7 |
| 11 | 11 Cost-benefit analysis | Chapter 8 |
| 12 | 12 Cost-benefit analysis | Chapter 8 |
| 13 | 13 Health care market | Chapter 9 |
| 14 | 14 Health expenditures | Chapter 10 - pp.201-211 |
| 15 | 15 Social security | Chapter 11 - pp.222-226 e 230-243 |
| 16 | 16 Income redistribution: conceptual issues | Chapter 12 |
| 17 | 17 Unemployment policies | Chapter 13 - pp.273-280; 289-292 |
| 18 | 18 Taxation - basic concepts | Chapters 14 |
| 19 | 19 Taxation and income distribution | Chapter 14 |
| 20 | 20 Taxation and efficiency – excess burden | Chapter 15 |
| 21 | 21 Trade-off between equity and efficiency | Chapter 16 |
| 22 | 22 Classification of public revenues | Chapter 18 |
| 23 | 23 Personal taxation and behavior | Chapter 18 |
| 24 | 24 The Corporation tax | Chapter 19 |
| 25 | 25 Taxes on consumption | Chapter 21 |
| 26 | 26 Wealth taxes | Chapter 21 |
| 27 | 27 Deficit finance | Chapter 20 |
| 28 | 28 Deficit finance | Chapter 20 |
| 29 | 29 Fiscal federalism | Chapter 22 |
| 30 | 30 Local public finance | Chapter 22 |
Verifica dell'apprendimento
Modalità di verifica dell'apprendimento
Examination consists of a written test: students are required to answer 4 open-ended questions.
Learning assessment may also be carried out on line in oral form, should the conditions require it.
Esempi di domande e/o esercizi frequenti
- Market failure
- Efficiency condition with public goods
- Median voter theorem and applications to large elections
- Describe the criteria for project evaluation and three methods of cost-benefit analysis
- Describe and discuss the Tiebout model
- Effects of social security on saving
- Discuss the problem of the burden of public debt
- Tax incidence in perfect competition
- Tax incidence in monopoly
- Effects of personal taxation on labour supply