| CODE | ECN2331 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Economics of the Public Sector | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Economics | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit covers both the theoretical and applied aspects of public sector economics. It also provides an overview of recent empirical research and the relevant policy questions at stake both locally and in the EU arena. This unit examines the fundamental questions of public sector economics and reviews the microeconomic theory underlying the role of the public sector. It covers the theory of public expenditures, including public goods and applies the theory to the largest areas of public expenditure namely education, healthcare, social security and welfare programs. The area of taxation is not covered in this study-unit but is covered in a separate study-unit. Study-Unit Aims: - This study-unit aims to give an overall perspective on the economic role of government. It aims to set forth the basic questions that are addressed by public sector economists, and explains some of the reasons why there are disagreements among them about appropriate policies. It also aims to address challenges in measuring the size of the public sector; - This unit also aims to examine when markets work well, and when—and in what ways—they do not. In this way, the study-unit aims to present a thorough examination of the role of the public sector; - Subsquently, this study-unit aims to examine government's role as a producer and presents a general framework that is utilized to analyze specific sectors. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - determine how the government affects the economy; - determine the appropriate role and size of government; - explain why some economic activities are undertaken in the public sector and others in the private sector; - understand what the government does today and how governments changed over time; - understand the meaning of efficiency, and why, under idealized conditions, competitive economies are efficient; - explain the variety of reasons why and circumstances in which markets may fail to produce efficient outcomes, and why, even if the economy were efficient, there might be a role for government in redistributing income; - understand the concept of market failure and explore the unique nature of public goods, why these are undersupplied by private markets, and the rationale for publicly provided private goods; - understand a conceptual framework about trading-off between increased efficiency and a more equitable distribution of income; - understand the basic theory of public expenditures; - use the theoretical models developed earlier to analyze public expenditure in practice, focusing on health care, education, welfare, and social insurance. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - use the analytical tools of public economics to assess policy proposals; - assess relevant theoretical models; - evaluate the general principles underlying the models and apply these to a range of policy questions; - critically evaluate relevant empirical evidence; - review empirical methods, recent research and data sources to assess causal questions; - present broad perspectives of current policy discussions and know the benefits and limitations of what economics can contribute to the debates. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Gruber, J., (2022), Public Finance and Public Policy. New York: Worth Publishers. - Stiglitz, J. and Rosengard, J., (2022), Economics of the Public Sector. New York: W. W. Norton and Company Inc. Supplementary Readings: - Supplementary readings consist of research papers, summaries and journal articles. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Charmaine Portelli |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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