040224 UK Topics in Public Economics (BA) (2017S)

Prerequisites:

This is a course for advanced bachelor students. Knowledge of introductory public economics is required (for example at the level of 040045 UK or another course that covers a large fraction of the material in Hindricks and Myles: Intermediate Public Economics). Knowledge of intermediate microeconomics and some econometrics is also an asset.

Course outline:

The course covers a selection of mostly empirical literature on the effects of important public institutions such as taxation, minimum wages, social security and legislation on economic variables such as growth, wealth, inequality and some non-pecuniary outcomes such as health and educational attainment. Many of these effects are mediated through political and legal institutions. To better understand these connections, we will cover parts of the theoretical literature on political economy and economics of law and how it connects to the empirical literature.

Course Goals:

The goal of the course is to give students an overview of what we know about the relative quantitative importance of different available policies and how conflicts of interest in political decision making affect economic outcomes.