Public economics

The course aims to explain the motivations of public intervention in the economic system, by introducing the concepts of equity and efficiency, redistribution, public goods and externalities. It shows the students how to analyse the public intervention options in the economic system, by studying the regulatory role of governments, the main fiscal instruments, including taxes and non-price policies such as nudges, as well as public spending interventions. Public operator's role in market economies, the functioning of national governments and their decision-making strategies will be discussed, with particular attention to the analysis of economic policies and by proposing some applied cases to support the theoretical basic concepts of the functioning of public spending and taxation systems.

At the end of the course the student will have developed critical skills to analyse the functioning of national and local governments. He/she will be able to discuss and evaluate the various public policies, by using the tools provided, and to critically analyse the debate on public operator's role in market economies.