Public Economics Workshop

The aim of this workshop is to give students the opportunity to actively learn and discuss key topics in public economics and public policy within a seminar environment. The topic of the 2019-2020 edition of the workshop is Macroeconomic and fiscal policies in the European Union and in the European Monetary Union.

Knowledge and understanding: By the end of the workshop, students will be equipped with analytical tools and knowledge for improving their understanding of real-world public economic policies. In the 2019-2020 edition, students will learn normative and positive issues regarding budget deficit and public debts (e.g., debt sustainability, tax smoothing, fiscal dominance, deficit bias); whether or not fiscal rules and fiscal councils are substitutable or complementary tools for enforcing fiscal policy discipline; how fiscal rules work in the EU and whether or not they should be reformed.
Making judgements: By the end of the workshop, students should know how to use economic analysis to make informed judgements about public economic policies.
Communication skills: Seminar presentations will enable students both to test their understanding and ability to communicate knowledge of the relevant topics, and to discuss in an academic environment real-world public economic issues. Essay writing will enable students to test their ability to communicate the theories and ideas presented in seminars and their policy implications. Students are not expected to develop original results, but to analyse and provide a balanced view of the possible policy options and recommendations.
Learning skills: Lectures, seminar presentations and essay writing will enable students to better their critical thinking on public economics, to help developing creative thinking on real-world public economic policies, to communicate knowledge to others, to collaborate in teams.