Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university.

Also required is 60 credits in economics and 15 credits in statistics (or closely related subject).

Learning outcomes

After completing this course, the student is expected to:

theoretically analyze, explain and independently derive central results in public economics

identify relevant empirical methods and data sets to address important questions in public economics

demonstrate the ability to read and understand research articles in public economics and discuss these in class

apply microeconomic analysis to real-world problems and, through a combination of theory and empirics, assess arguments that appear in the policy debate.

Content

The main objective of the course is to discuss the optimal design of tax and social insurance policies for promoting a socially efficient resource allocation and a desirable income distribution. Theoretical models will be combined with empirical evidence. The emphasis will be on tax policy, highlighting on the one hand the harmful market effects of taxes and on the other hand the role of taxes in supporting the role of the public sector. The scope will range from basic theory to issues on the political agenda in Sweden and elsewhere. 

Topics include:

• The distribution of income and wealth
• The design of taxes and government programs
• Responses to public policies
• Internalities, externalities, behavioral public economicscurrent issues and recent developments in public economics

Instruction

The course material will mainly be presented in lectures. There will, however, also be seminars and exercises during the class.

Assessment

The course will be concluded by a written exam, seminars and a compulsory term paper.