Postgraduate Course: Economic Issues in Public Policy (PGSP11246)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | 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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| Course description |
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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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 30 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1000 word short essay (25% of overall grade) and 3,000 word essay (75% of overall grade) |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- an understanding of the place of economic and resourcing issues in public policy
- an ability to critically engage with economic literature about public policy
- a critical 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 present, communicate and debate policy relevant issues while drawing on numerical data to support a specific viewpoint
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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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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Paul Norris
Tel: (0131 6)50 3922
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Jade Birkin
Tel: (0131 6)51 1659
Email: |
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