Ateneo - UPO

The course analyses the rationale, the size and the specificities of the public intervention in the fields of Health, Social Security and Education. It furthermore illustrates the main policy measures to address poverty and income inequality. Government intervention is normally justified on the bases of efficiency and equity issues. In light of that, in the first part of the course we analyse the circumstances that lead the market to an inefficient allocation of resources and we provide the analytical tools for their evaluation. We furthermore present the main measures of poverty and inequality. With the acquired methodological instruments, in the second part of the course, we then provide a lecture of the main welfare state interventions in place and under discussion at national and European level.

Rosen H. S., Gayer T. (2023), Scienza delle Finanze, McGrawHill, VI edizione, edizione italiana. Additional reading recommendations will be shared throughout the course (please refer to the Dir directory).

The course will introduce students to the standard public economic theory. After attending the course, the student is expected: • to be able to manage quantitative microeconomic tools to analyse market failure problems, equity issues and related government interventions; • to have notions on how public economic theory can be fruitfully applied for undertaking sound empirical analysis of policy making concerning public good provision, market power control, externalities, and inequality; • to learn how to summarize and discuss the results of academic research in public economics.

Basic knowledge of static optimization (that is: first derivatives, and the definitiona and solution of a lagrangian function.) is highly beneficial.

Theoretical classes and exercises. Attendance is highly recommended.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/servicesstudents-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Written exam. Students who attend class have the option to give a short presentation, which will be graded from 0 to 2 points. These points will be added to the final exam score.

Program The determinants of public intervention • Departures from efficiency: Public goods, Club goods and local public goods, Externalities, Imperfect competition, Asymmetric Information • Equity issues: Inequality and poverty Public Sector budget: • Public expenditure composition and time trends • Public Health expenditures • Unemployment policies • Education expenditures • Social security

The slides, the exercises and any supplementary material will be uploaded to DIR at the end of each class.

Ability to critically analyse the efficiency and distributive properties of welfare policies.