EC981: Public Economics
Ben Lockwood
Module Leader
Sara Spaziani
Module Lecturer
Principal Aims
This module is aimed to train students in both theory and applications in the field of public finance. The purpose of the module is to understand the role of the government through expenditure and taxation, as well as develop an idea on topics such as externalities and the political economy. It will expose students to frontier research on the theory behind the design of various public policies.
Principal Learning Outcomes
Subject Knowledge and Understanding:...analyse the impact of public policies on efficiency and equity, using both theoretical and empirical tools. The teaching and learning methods that enable students to achieve this learning outcome are: Lectures. The summative assessment methods that measure the achievement of this learning outcome are: Exam, Report and Test.
Subject Knowledge and Understanding:...understand the applications of basic microeconomic and game theory tools in public economics settings. The teaching and learning methods that enable students to achieve this learning outcome are: Lectures. The summative assessment methods that measure the achievement of this learning outcome are: Exam, Report and Test .
Subject Knowledge and Understanding:...understand and interpret the recent developments of research in the field of public finance, and the implications they have for the design of public policies. The teaching and learning methods that enable students to achieve this learning outcome are: Lectures. The summative assessment methods that measure the achievement of this learning outcome are: Exam .
Syllabus
The module will typically cover the following topics:
• inequality and the role of government in the economy;
• tax incidence; distortions and welfare losses;
• behavioural responses to income and business taxation;
• social insurance programmes;
• public goods.
Context
- Optional Module
- L1P6 - Year 1, L1P7 - Year 1
- Pre or Co-requisites
- Students should have completed courses in intermediate level microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics.
Assessment
- Assessment Method
- Coursework (30%) + In-person Examination (70%)
- Coursework Details
- Group Report (20%) , In-person Examination (70%) , Test (10%)
- Exam Timing
- Summer
Exam Rubric
Time Allowed: 2 Hours
Read all instructions carefully - and read through the entire paper at least once before you start entering your answers.
There are TWO sections in this paper. Answer BOTH questions in Section A (25 marks each) and ONE question in Section B (50 marks).
Answer each whole question in a separate booklet.
Approved scientific (non-graphical) pocket calculators are allowed.
You should not submit answers to more than the required number of questions. If you do, we will mark the questions in the order that they appear, up to the required number of questions in each section.
Previous exam papers can be found in the University’s past papers archive. Please note that previous exam papers may not have operated under the same exam rubric or assessment weightings as those for the current academic year. The content of past papers may also be different.