Public Economics (EC0018)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : MSE-3-PUBECON

Gordon Hughes is a leading 'practitioner', who runs an economics consultancy and travels the world advising on natural resource, environmental and other issues. As he is in Edinburgh at weekends between travel commitments, the course will be taught mostly on Fridays 4.00pm-6.00pm Class members are notified by email when classes will be held. Note that the possible irregularity of classes places a premium on good time-management skills and flexibility/adaptability, in comparison to more standard weekly classes. This course will provide a systematic overview of the micro-economics of the public sector. It will focus on issues and institutions that are important in the UK but it will adopt a comparative approach in order to highlight similarities and differences with other OECD countries in the ways they address common problems. The first half of the course will cover the theory and practice of tax design, while the second half of the course will examine the role of the public sector as a provider and/or regulator of important services.

Entry Requirements

? Costs : None

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Economics, (Management School and Economics, Schedule H)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
11/01/2008	16:00	18:00	Room G.10, William Robertson Building	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Friday	16:10	18:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this course students should have acquired an understanding of the analytical and practical foundations of the economics of taxation, public expenditure and the funding of public services with particular emphasis on policy analysis and the relationship between public and private provision of different classes of goods and services. They should be familiar with the techniques of tax analysis in partial and general equilibrium frameworks, the design and application of alternative tax instruments, the relationship between national and sub-national governments in taxation and public expenditure, issues of moral hazard, insurability and capital markets in the economics of pensions, health and education, and the design of economic policies to address poverty and inequality. In the course assessment, students are required to demonstrate skills in understanding and using standard economic analysis together with the application of analytical concepts to practical economic problems.