Teaching code

4S00311

Teacher

Alessandro Sommacal

Coordinator

Alessandro Sommacal

Credits

9

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

SECS-P/03 - PUBLIC ECONOMICS

Period

secondo semestre lauree triennali dal Feb 18, 2019 al May 31, 2019.

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to provide students with rigorous economic tools for the modern analysis of public policies. We will review the justifications for the economic role of the state, focusing on the role of public expenditure, taxation and regulatory policies. We will supplement the analysis of theoretical models with evidence from Italian public policies. We will focus on the underlying motivations behid public interventions and on the effect of public policies in terms of efficiency and equity.
At completion of the course students should be able to:
- Understand and evaluate critically the justifications for the public intervention in the economy.
- Analyse and assess rigorously public policies on the basis of economic theory.
- Master the economic analysis of the main italian taxation tools.

Program

-Positive and normative public finance; the fundamental theorems of welfare economics; market failures (externalities; public goods; asymmetric information).
-Government revenues and expenditures: a taxonomy.
- Revenues: impact on individual decisions and fiscal incidence; tax policy in a modern fiscal system.
- Social expenditure: the pension system; the health care system.
- Social choice theory

A specific attention will be devoted to the institutional features of the Italian system.

The teaching will be organized in lectures and exercise classes.

Examination Methods

The exam is split into two parts:
- a preliminary multiple choice test (weight: 1/3)
- a written exam with exercises and theoretical questions (weight: 2/3)
Admission to the second part is conditioned on the achievement of a minimum score in the first part (14/30).

The exam may (optionally) be split into two parts: the first will be scheduled during the course, with questions of topics covered until that point; the second, scheduled for the same date as the whole exam, with questions on the remaining part of the programme. The weight of the two parts in determining the final grade is the same.