Public Economics

Duration

30h Th, 15h Pr

Number of credits

Lecturer

Alain Jousten

Substitute(s)

Justina Klimaviciute

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

A number of topics in public economics will be covered, relating both to public expenditures and income. The approach is both normative and positive.
The course is organized around the following broad topics:

• Taxation and (in)efficiency
• Commodity taxation
• Income taxation
• Social security and social insurance
• Miscellaneous topics:

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

In line with the Key Learning Outcomes, the objective of the course is to enforce the economic expertise (strategy) and develop the critical thinking (strategy and adaptability) of the student. More specifically, the course will :

• Present the main reasons why the government intervenes in market economics, what are the limits of these interventions and how private agents react to such interventions.
• Propose socially and individually responsible solutions, respecting the principles of good governance (quality control).

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Compulsory prerequisites:

• Intermediate Microeconomics
• Introductory Public Finance (see course Public Finance)

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

• lectures
• presentations by students

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

face-to-face

Recommended or required readings

There will be lecture notes (slides) provided for each topic (available on lol@: lola.hec.ulg.ac.be). These notes will contain detailed references for further reading.
Some useful textbooks:
Myles, G. "Public Economics", Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Tresch, R. "Public sector economics", Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
Atkinson, A. and J. Stiglitz. "Lectures on Public Economics", McGraw Hill, 1988.

Assessment methods and criteria

70% final (written) exam
30% oral presentation of a research paper (selected from a provided list)

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

1st semester

Contacts

Justina Klimaviciute E-mail : justina.klimaviciute@ulg.ac.be
Assistant  Jonathan Denomerenge Email: jdenomerenge@ulg.ac.be