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2011/2 Provisional Module Catalogue - UNDER CONSTRUCTION & SUBJECT TO CHANGE
 Module Code: ECO3046 Module Title: PUBLIC ECONOMICS
Module Provider: Economics Short Name: ECO3046
Level: HE3 Module Co-ordinator:
Number of credits: 15 Number of ECTS credits: 7.5
 
Module Availability
Spring
Assessment Pattern
Unit of Assessment

Weighting Towards Module 
Mark (%)
2 hour Examination

70
Coursework 1

10
Coursework 2

20

Qualifying Condition(s)
A weighted aggregated mark of 40% is required to pass the module
Module Overview

Microeconomic theory tells us that markets are Pareto efficient but that they may fail. How should we respond to such failures? This module addresses this question. It looks at the theory of market failure, and whether government failure might undermine the case for government intervention. It then asks how public intervention can be evaluated (so call cost-benefit analysis) and then examines a set of public policies in the UK - attempting to evaluate these. The set of applications will include health and education policy, the economics of crime, economic policy and the family, tax and social security, industry regulation and the public finance initiative.
Studying this module will help you to apply and extend your microeconomc theory and to learn about a set of topical policy applications. It will help you to understand and evaluate these policies.
Prerequisites/Co-requisites
None
Module Aims
To guide students in using microeconomic theory to interpret and evaluate Government policy
Learning Outcomes
  • An understanding of the first and second theorem of welfare economics and how market failures occur
  • an appreciation of the principles and practice of cost benefit analysis
  • an understanding of optima taxation theory
  • the ability to discus Public Economics verbally and using diagrammatic analysis
Module Content
  • welfare economics
  • the case for Government intervention: Externalities and public goods
  • cost benefit analysis
  • health
  • education
  • tax theory and optimal taxation
Methods of Teaching/Learning
Lectures (11)
Selected Texts/Journals
John Cullis and Philip Jones, Public Finance and Public Choice, 3rd edition, OUP, 2009
Last Updated

10 March 2011