The course introduces to the main analytical instruments to understand the complex intervention of the public sector in the economy. Main theoretical perspectives will be balanced and complemented with empirical facts. Where possible, the contextual institutional setting surrounding public sector interventions will be discussed and analyzed.
teacher profile teaching materials
"Economics of the public sector" by JOSEPH STIGLITZ e JAY ROSENGARD
Programme
The course will deal, among others, with the following topics: composition of public expenditure and tax revenue; market efficiency and market failures; The role public goods and public remedies to externalities, with emphasis given to the public role for environmental protection; the trade-off between efficiency and equity and the re-distributive role of public policies; The tax and transfers system, taxes on income, consumption, and wealth; the size distribution of income and wealth and the concept of economic inequalities; the role of technology and automated algorithms as a guide to public intervention; the provision of public goods and services by central and local governments.Core Documentation
The main textbook adopted for the course is:"Economics of the public sector" by JOSEPH STIGLITZ e JAY ROSENGARD