Public Economics
Offentlig ekonomi

VFT005F, 7.5 credits

Valid from: Autumn 2015
Decided by: Rektor Viktor Öwall
Date of establishment: 2016-06-21

General Information

Division: Real Estate Science
Course type: Third-cycle course
Teaching language: Swedish

Aim

The course aims to provide students with knowledge and skills in public economics, ie when the market is not functioning in a satisfactory manner and public intervention can be justified . The course aims to provide students with knowledge of how individuals and the economy as a whole is affected by government intervention and how public decisions are made and implemented and what impact the decision making has for individuals and the economy.

Goals

Knowledge and Understanding

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• be able to describe a market economy functioning in terms of efficiency and distribution.
• be able to explain the arguments for and against public sector activities.
• have a good understanding of the methods of normative analysis ( welfare economics ).
• know the methods of positive analysis of public economic issues.

Competences and Skills

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• have the ability to apply economic tools to analyze public expenditure (public goods, public-produced private goods, social insurance and transfers) and how the public sector is financed ( taxes, fees, loan).
• also be able to communicate and explain their analyzes and conclusions clearly and unambiguously.

Judgement and Approach

For a passing grade the doctoral student must develop the ability to pursue further studies in the subject and the ability to seek and evaluate information with a high degree of independence .

Course Contents

The course focuses on the relationship between the public sector and the market in terms of both equity and efficiency. More specifically, the course provides the necessary tools to analyze when the public sector to intervene, the intervention can be effective and the problems that may arise due to imperfect information and other deviations from a perfect market environment. The course begins with a discussion of the arguments for and against public sector involvement in different situations and continue to treat a variety of tools that policymakers can use to maximize welfare and justice with regard to both government expenditure and revenue side. Areas covered include public goods, externalities, social security, income redistribution, efficient and fair taxation, debt management, fiscal federalism and the constraints of globalization for fiscal policy. Part of the course is devoted to the question of how collective decisions are made and the challenges of a collective decision-making entails.

Course Literature

Gayer, T. & Rosen, H.: Public Finance. McGraw-Hill Education, 2013. ISBN 9780078021688.

Instruction Details

Types of instruction: Seminars, self-study literature review. Seminars take the shape of discussions with the teacher.

Examination Details

Examination format: Written exam
Grading scale: Failed, pass
Examiner:

Admission Details

Admission requirements: 30 credits in courses in economics

Course Occasion Information

Contact and Other Information

Course coordinators: