Public Economics
Code
LL125
Department
Área de Ensino
Credits
4
Teacher in charge
Duarte Brito
Weekly hours
3
Teaching language
Português
Objectives
The aim is to provide an overall view of the major objectives of State intervention in a market economy, with particular emphasis on resource allocation, economic redistribution and stabilisation. By the end of the course students should master basic economic concepts, identify market failures and the corresponding corrective public intervention, understand the difficulties inherent to this intervention as well as its consequences. In general terms, it is expected that students learn basic microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts and learn how to analyze problems that are new to them in a formal way, based on (economic) models, developing their logic reasoning skills
Subject matter
0. Introduction and revision of microeconomic concepts
1. Public intervention in a market economy
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Public Goods
1.3 Externalities
1.4 MIxed goods
1.5 Market power and information asymmetries
1.6 Social Choice
1.7 Redistribution
2. The short run and long run government’s budget constraint
3. Financial decentralization *
4. Rules versus discretionary power
Bibliography
Barbosa, A.S.P. Economia Pública, McGraw Hill.
Adicionais:
Musgrave, R. e Musgrave, P. Public Finance in Theory and Practice, McGraw Hill.
Hindriks, J. and G. D. Myles, Intermediate Public Economics, MIT Press
Pereira, Paulo T. et al. Economia e Finanças Públicas, Escolar Editora, 2005
Teaching method
The content of the course is taught in theoretical classes, during which interaction with students is stimulated. Problem sets with practical exercises to support understanding of the material covered in the theoretical classes are solved to illustrate the theory. The evaluation is made up of a final exam.