ECON 504
Public Economics in Developing Countries Fall 2018
Division II
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

This class is about microeconomic and empirical analysis of government expenditure programs in developing and transitional countries. It provides tools for understanding the effects of government policies, as well as a useful conceptual framework for analyzing normative questions such as “what role should government play in the economy” and “what is a good policy?” The course begins by considering the efficiency of market economies, and rationales for government intervention in the market, such as public goods, externalities, information-based market failures, imperfect competition, and equity. We also consider ways that human behavior might deviate from perfect rationality, and what that might imply for policy. Along the way, we apply these concepts to various examples of policy issues, including, among other things, the environment, education, health, infrastructure, security, social insurance, and aid to the poor. We then turn to the general question of how to make the government work better, addressing questions such as the following. When is it better to have the government own and produce things, and when is it better to privatize? What are the incentives of politicians and government employees, and how does the design of political and budgetary institutions affect the degree to which they serve the public interest? How should responsibilities be divided up between the central government and local governments, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of “decentralization?” What can be done to improve the delivery of basic services? For example, how might one address problems of corruption and absenteeism? Throughout the course, we consider examples of empirical research, and to facilitate this, we will occasionally introduce econometric tools that are particularly useful for microeconomic policy evaluation.
The Class: Format: lecture/discussion
Limit: 35
Expected: 30-35
Class#: 1211
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: problem sets, one 10-page paper, a midterm, and a final exam
Prerequisites: ECON 110; in addition, an empirical methods course (POEC 253, ECON 255, 502 or 503, or STAT 346) must be taken before or concurrently with this class; undergraduate enrollment limited and requires instructor's permission
Distributions: Division II
Attributes: GBST Economic Development Studies
PHLH Decision-Making by Institutions + Individuals
POEC Comparative POEC/Public Policy Courses

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