BPV_APEC Public Economics

Faculty of Economics and Administration
Autumn 2018
Extent and Intensity
2/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Ing. Gabriela Daniel, PhD. (lecturer)
Ing. Miloš Fišar, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. Mgr. Jiří Špalek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Ing. Diya Elizabeth Abraham, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. Mgr. Jiří Špalek, Ph.D.
Department of Public Economics – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Contact Person: Mgr. Jana Nesvadbová
Supplier department: Department of Public Economics – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Timetable
Tue 16:00–17:50 MT205
  • Timetable of Seminar Groups:
BPV_APEC/01: each odd Thursday 8:00–9:50 S309, G. Daniel, M. Fišar
Prerequisites
(! PVVE Public Economics )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 24 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/24, only registered: 0/24, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/24
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course presents an introduction to Public Economics. It deals with that part of the national economy which is funded from redistributive processes and which is usually referred to as the Public Sector (PS). The content of the course aims to introduce the economics of the public sector; the role of the government and how different the government and public policies affect the economy. The subject matter is divided into several interrelated blocks:


The first block focuses more intensely on application some basic microeconomic concepts, mainly the economic roles of the government. The rationale for the (PS) is explored here as well. The objective is to enhance critical and analytical economic-thinking of students. This part of the course introduces and investigates the issues of efficiency and equity of the policies. The different theories of the PS are discussed as well. Furthermore, the attention is also paid to the situations of the market and government failures. The concepts of public and club goods, externalities, imperfect competition or imperfect information, are studied. The importance and application possibilities of the behavioral economics will be highlighted.


The second block deals with processes of resource allocation decisions making within the PS - Public Choice and introduction to the Public Policy and Public Policy Analysis. The primary goal is to teach students to understand the role and motivation of main actors in the PS. The students learn the different concepts of voting and election, as well as the role of rent-seeking in the public sector.


The third block analyses an "anatomy" of financial flows within the PS, it is public finance as a dominant category. The objective is to understand main principles and issues of public finance in modern economics. This block also introduces the students to the structure of public budget revenues, while placing special emphasis on taxes. The aim is to understand principles of "good" taxation and to cope with differences in attitude towards practical issues of tax policy. It covers aspects of taxation and fiscal resources of the PS. The students learn basic concepts of tax instruments and tax evasion, the principles of fiscal federalism or budgeting in the PS.

Learning outcomes
By the time the students finish the course, they should be able to:
- explain central concepts and basic models of modern public economic,
- identify and analyze policy problems in public economics,
- demonstrate major actual policies and examples of issues currently on the political agenda,
- assess arguments appearing in the policy debate,
- describe key concepts characterizing types, properties, and effects of taxes and describing publicly provided goods and market imperfections,
- read and understand journal articles that make use of the concepts and methods that are introduced in the course
Syllabus
  • Lectures:
  • 1. Introduction to the public sector, mixed economies, and functions of PS
  • 2. Market failures and Distributive justice
  • 3. Economic Role of Government
  • 4. Public goods and publicly provided goods
  • 5. Externalities and government failures
  • 6. Public choice and elections
  • 7. Efficiency and equity
  • 8. Bureaucracy
  • 9. Public expenditures
  • 10. Taxation in theory
  • 11. Tax in practice
  • Seminars:
  • 1. Introduction and repetition of basic microeconomic concepts
  • 2. Public Goods Game in an experiment. It’s application to the public sector
  • 3. Private and public solutions of externalities. Coase theorem, Pigou tax
  • 4. Median voter theorem and the paradox of voting
  • 5. Practical aspects of elections
  • 6. European public finance, budget, and taxes
Literature
    recommended literature
  • STIGLITZ, Joseph E and K ROSENGARD JAY. Economics of the public sector. 4th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, 923 pp. ISBN 978-0-393-93709-1. info
  • ATKINSO, Anthony B and Joseph E STIGLITZ. Lectures on Public Economics. Princeton University Press, 2015, 532 pp. ISBN 978-0-691-16641-4. info
  • HILLMAN, Arye L. Public finance and public policy : responsibilities and limitations of government. 2nd. ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009, x, 859. ISBN 9780521738057. info
Teaching methods
lectures, seminars, assigned reading, class discussion, seminars, reading week, expert lectures
Assessment methods
The exam has a written (100 points) form. The basic condition for getting a grade (A-E) from the course is to gain at least 60 points. Important information! If students commit a prohibited act, such as using various forbidden tools, cribbing, taking out any part of the exam or any other cheating, the teacher is allowed to interrupt an exam and to grade a student with F, FF or FFF according to the seriousness of the offence. The mentioned procedure relates to all the activities that are included in the final evaluation of the course (seminar work, essays, tests etc.).
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: This course is offered only to foreign students
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2018, recent)
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