INGLESE

Students should have some familiarity with introductory microeconomics and introductory econometrics.

The course lasts 11 weeks. The first part lasts 12 sessions and develops the theoretical framework to analyze problems of public choice and public expenditures. The second part of the course comprises 10 sessions and discusses a selection of academic journal articles concerning evaluations of public policy. Students are expected to give a short presentation based on a pre-assigned academic journal article which will take place in the last two weeks of the module.

This course provides a basis for the economic analysis and evaluation of public policy. It analyzes the role of government in society, the problem of market failure and externalities, and shows how benefits and costs of both spending and regulatory programs can be quantified. To make decisions concerning how to use public resources and which program to undertake, government makes use of several qualitative and quantitative methods. Modern government institution generally uses cost-benefit analysis, ex-post impact evaluations. The students will gain a wide understanding of how well public programs and policies produce their desired outcomes and of choosing among mutually exclusive policies.

The first part of the course develops a general framework which provides students with the salient economic tools to analyze problems of public choice and gives guidelines for applying the efficiency and equity criteria to government programs.
The second part presents and discusses case studies and ex-post impact evaluations of regulatory and spending policy. This give students a sense of how economic literature is used to shape policymaking decisions. This part will possibly include 2 guest lectures by external speakers who will present examples of methods and procedures adopted by modern government institutions.

The students will learn how to use economic research for analyzing problems of public choice and evaluate policy effectiveness. They will be encouraged to develop their critical thinking in order to discern merits and faults of the empirical studies discussed in class. Students will also learn how to present a piece of work and get confidence to speak in front of the class.

Part 1: 12 lessons (6 weeks)
Lesson 1. Introduction – overview of the course and preliminaries
Lesson 2. Market efficiency (Ch.3 in Stiglitz)
Lesson 3. Market efficiency (Ch.3 in Stiglitz)
Lesson 4. Market Failure (Ch.4 in Stiglitz)
Lesson 5. Market Failure (Ch.4 in Stiglitz)
Lesson 6. Efficiency and Equity (Ch.5 in Stiglitz)
Lesson 7. Efficiency and Equity (Ch.5 in Stiglitz)
Lesson 8. Public goods and publicly provided private goods (Ch.6 in Stiglitz)
Lesson 9. Public goods and publicly provided private goods (Ch.6 in Stiglitz)
Lesson 10. Externalities (Ch.9 in Stiglitz)
Lesson 11. The analysis of expenditure policy (Ch.10 in Stiglitz)
Lesson 12. Cost-Benefit analysis (Ch.11 in Stiglitz)


Part 2: 10 lessons (5 weeks)
Readings and academic journal articles will be distributed throughout the course and will include the following topics: Health Care, Education, Environment, Taxation, Migration, Labor Market. Some material will be also based on Angrist and Pischke textbook.

Grading is based on 1 (take-home) essay, 1 (take-home) research project, 1 presentation and lecture attendance. For students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disability (SLD) who have contacted the University Disability/SLD Info Point to request support for the specific curricular exam, please note that the way the exam is taken can be adapted in accordance with the University Guidelines (https://www.univpm.it/Entra/Accoglienza_diversamente_abili).

Grading is designed to incentivize students to read and understand the material given throughout the course. Students have to demonstrate a proper use of economic concepts and tools to analyze problems of public policy and public expenditures. Moreover, students are expected to develop and apply their own critical thinking skills, building on the knowledge they have gained over the course.
Students who want to get a good grade should concentrate on the three main tasks: 1) read the readings; 2) think critically about the subject matters discussed in class; 3) think about the essay answers along the way.
Students are encouraged to exchange views and collaborate with classmates as long as this is helpful for developing his own assignment. However, students should ensure that any work submitted for grading is the result of his own thoughts and research.

The overall course grade is the weighted average of 1 essay (50 percent), 1 research project (40 percent), a presentation (5 percent) and lecture attendance (5 percent). Pass mark is 18 and the maximum final grade is 30 cum laude.

Grading is based on 1 essay (50 percent), 1 research project (40 percent), a presentation (5 percent) and lecture attendance (5 percent).
The first essay questions are about concepts developed in the first part of the course (the first 12 sessions) and is due by the end of the 7th week.
The research project gives students hands-on experience on writing an original piece of research. Students are required to elaborate critically on a topic chosen in agreement with the instructor in the last two weeks of the course. Students are also asked to give a short presentation based on a pre-assigned academic journal article.

Most of the topics of the course are covered by chapters in the textbook "Economics of the Public Sector", by Joseph E. Stiglitz and Jay K. Rosengard, “Public Finance and Public Policy”, by J. Gruber and “Mastering Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect”, by Joshua D. Angrist and Jorn-Steffen Pischke.

-Gruber, Jonathan, Public Finance and Public Policy (sixth edition), Worth Publishers Inc., 2019.
- Stiglitz, Joseph E., and Rosengard, J.K., Economics of the public sector (fourth edition), W. W. Norton & Company, 2015.
- Angrist, J. D., and Pischke, J.-S., Mastering 'metrics: The path from cause to effect, Princeton University Press, 2015.

Additional course material, including journal articles and policy reports will be distributed throughout the course and will be available on the module's website.