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ES20068: Public economics

Follow this link for further information on academic years Academic Year: 2018/9
Further information on owning departmentsOwning Department/School: Department of Economics
Further information on credits Credits: 6      [equivalent to 12 CATS credits]
Further information on notional study hours Notional Study Hours: 120
Further information on unit levels Level: Intermediate (FHEQ level 5)
Further information on teaching periods Period:
Semester 1
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Summary: EX 100%
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Detail:
  • Examination (EX 100%)
Further information on supplementary assessment Supplementary Assessment:
ES20068A Re-sit Examination (where allowed by programme regulations)
Further information on requisites Requisites: Before taking this module you must take ES10001 AND take ES10005
Further information on descriptions Description: Aims:

* To enable students to apply principles of microeconomics to analyse public economic theory.
* To enable students to understand and assess policy issues in public economics.
* To make students aware of the different schools of thought in public economics.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the course unit students should be able to:
* Apply microeconomic theory rigorously to assess theoretical issues in public economics.
* Understand and evaluate policy debates in public economics.
* Interpret empirical evidence and whether it supports the theoretical models studied.

Skills:
The following are facilitated and assessed: Abstract reasoning; information synthesis; diagrammatic skills; writing skills; numeracy skills.

Content:
Public Economics provides an introduction to the economic roles and policy tools of governments. Throughout the course, a strong emphasis is placed on understanding the empirical approaches that have been used to test the relevant theories and what these imply for the effectiveness of government interventions.
The unit begins with a discussion of the First Welfare Theorem and the situations under which free markets may fail to produce efficient outcomes. The bulk of the unit then examines what role governments may play in alleviating these market failures. Public goods, property rights, imperfect information and irrationality among individuals are considered in detail. The unit also examines common policy tools used to achieve desired distributions of income and what public choice models tell us about the effectiveness of voting as a method of making policy choices in the first place.
Students are encouraged to take ES20019 Public Finance (Economics of Taxation) after taking this unit. ES20019 covers in depth how governments finance their activities and complements the topics covered in Public Economics (ES20068).
Further information on programme availabilityProgramme availability:

ES20068 is Optional on the following programmes:

Department of Economics
  • UHES-AFB03 : BSc(Hons) Economics (Year 2)
  • UHES-AAB03 : BSc(Hons) Economics with Study year abroad (Year 2)
  • UHES-AKB03 : BSc(Hons) Economics with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UHES-AFB01 : BSc(Hons) Economics and Politics (Year 2)
  • UHES-AAB01 : BSc(Hons) Economics and Politics with Study year abroad (Year 2)
  • UHES-AKB01 : BSc(Hons) Economics and Politics with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UHES-ACB01 : BSc(Hons) Economics and Politics with Combined Placement and Study Abroad (Year 2)
  • UHES-ACB03 : BSc(Hons) Economics with Combined Placement and Study Abroad (Year 2)

Notes: