Postgraduate Course: Economic Issues in Public Policy (PGSP11246)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This is a course on economic issues in public policy. As such, it assumes no background in Economics or the mathematics of econometric modelling. Instead, this course focuses on how public policy decisions are constrained by economic considerations and how economic thinking can be used to evaluate policy outcomes.
The course consists of three separate, but related, sections. Firstly, students will be provided with an introduction to the economic context of public policy covering differing economic rationales and economic resources available for public policy. Section 2, will consider the relationship between governments and markets, looking at motivation in public services and attempts to introduce markets in public services, along with the impact of benefits and taxes on the operation of economic markets. In Finally, students will discuss how the growth of economic thinking within the public sector has influenced policy evaluation.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2012/13 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
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WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Lecture | | 1-11 | | | | 16:10 - 17:00 | | | Central | Seminar | Seminar group | 1-11 | | | | 17:10 - 18:00 | |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
The course seeks to develop:
- an understanding of the place of economic and resourcing issues in public policy
- an ability to read economic literature about public policy
- an awareness of the growing use of 'markets' in the provision of public services and the political debates which have occurred around this
- an understanding of evaluation of policy in terms of efficiency and equity
- an ability to look critically at international comparative data on factors affecting public policy.
- an ability to present, communicate and debate policy relevant issues while drawing on numerical data to support a specific viewpoint
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Assessment Information
| 1000 word short essay (25% of overall grade) and 3,000 word essay (75% of overall grade) |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Economic Rationales and Resources for Policy
Week 1 Efficiency verses Equity and Economists in Government
Week 2 Economic Rationales for Public Intervention
Week 3 Issues of Measurement
Week 4 Resources for Public Intervention - Macro-aspects
Week 5 Resources for Public Intervention - Micro-aspects
Government Problems with Market Solutions
Week 6 Government Policy and Individual Incentives - Policy Takers
Week 7 Government Policy and Individual Incentives - Policy Makers
Week 8 Using Market Signals in Public Services - Choice and Quasi-Markets
Week 9 Partial Privatization - Contracting Out and PPPs
Evaluating Policy and Performance
Week 10 Measuring Performance and Efficiency in Public Policy
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| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Barr N. (2001) The Welfare State as Piggy Bank, Oxford: OUP.
Barr N. (2004) The Economics of the Welfare State (4th edition), Oxford: OUP.
Begg D., Fischer S. and Dornbusch R. (2003) Economics (7th edition), McGraw-Hill. (Chapters 1-3)
Davis E (1998) Public Spending, London: Penguin.
Le Grand J, Propper C and Smith S (2008) The Economics of Social Problems, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Glennerster H and Hills J (1998) The State of Welfare (2nd edition), Oxford: OUP
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| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Elke Heins
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Cristyn King
Tel: (0131 6)51 3865
Email: |
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