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ES30039: Welfare economics & distributive justice

Follow this link for further information on academic years Academic Year: 2013/4
Further information on owning departmentsOwning Department/School: Department of Economics
Further information on credits Credits: 6
Further information on unit levels Level: Honours (FHEQ level 6)
Further information on teaching periods Period: Semester 1
Further information on unit assessment Assessment: EX 100%
Further information on supplementary assessment Supplementary Assessment: Reassessment not allowed
Further information on requisites Requisites: Before taking this unit you must take ES20011 and take ES20012
Further information on descriptions Description: Aims:
The aims of this unit are to provide a good understanding of the underpinnings of welfare economics and distributive justice beginning with the welfare properties of general equilibrium.

Learning Outcomes:
At a general level, students will be equipped with the ability to analyse economic decisions under the light of formal principles of economic welfare and fairness.
At a more practical level, students will be able to choose among rules of fair division of resources, on the basis of the properties of these rules.

Skills:
Ability to develop rigorous arguments through precise use of concepts and mathematical models (Taught/Facilitated/Assessed)
Ability to select, summarise and synthesise written information from multiple sources (T/F/A)
Ability to select and use appropriate ideas to produce a coherent response to a pre-set question (T/F/A)
Comprehensive and scholarly written communication (T/F/A)
Concise and effective written communication (e.g. briefings / written exams) (T/F/A)
Effective oral communication (e.g. lecture question and answer) (F).

Content:
Pareto optimality and the Pareto criterion. Principles of distributive justice. Cardinal welfarism. Ordinal welfarism. Solutions to the problem of the Commons. Economic exploitation in general, and economic exploitation in capitalism.
Key texts:
Moulin, Herve. 2003. Fair Division & Collective Welfare. Cambridge, MA.
Roemer, John E. 1988. Free to Lose: An Introduction to Marxist Economic Philosophy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP.
Further information on programme availabilityProgramme availability:

ES30039 is Optional on the following programmes:

Department of Economics
  • UHES-AFB03 : BSc (hons) Economics (Full-time) - Year 3
  • UHES-AKB03 : BSc (hons) Economics (Full-time with Thick Sandwich Placement) - Year 4
  • UHES-AFB02 : BSc (hons) Economics and International Development (Full-time) - Year 3
  • UHES-AKB02 : BSc (hons) Economics and International Development (Full-time with Thick Sandwich Placement) - Year 4
  • UHES-AFB01 : BSc (hons) Economics and Politics (Full-time) - Year 3
  • UHES-AKB01 : BSc (hons) Economics and Politics (Full-time with Thick Sandwich Placement) - Year 4

Notes:
* This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2013/4 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2014/15 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2013/14.
* Programmes and units are subject to change at any time, in accordance with normal University procedures.
* Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.