Unit name | Markets, Government and Public Policy |
---|---|
Unit code | SPOL30021 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Wilson |
Open unit status | Open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School for Policy Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The aim of this unit is to introduce students to some of the key economic concepts that inform alternative ways of organising both the provision and the finance of public services. The first part of the unit considers the theory of markets and the way economists think about allocating (scarce) resources between alternative uses. It will consider issues of efficiency and equity and the nature of different types of government intervention and provision. The second part of the unit applies these ideas to a number of policy areas, including health care and education. The course then examines key elements of recent public service reform, including choice, competition and league tables, and explores how economics has influenced thinking in this area. It ends by putting this in the context of current government policies for public service reform.
Unit aims:
By the end of this unit students should be able to:
By the end of this unit students should be able to:
* Give an account of the way in which the structure and management of public services has been changing during the last two decades and explain the thinking behind these changes.
Lectures and seminars.
Assessment will be against the programme criteria defined for the appropriate level.
Formative assessment: One 2000-2500 word essay
Summative assessment : Level H - 3 hour unseen exam
Le Grand, J, Propper, C and Smith, S (2008) The economics of social problems, 4th edition, Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan
Glennerster, H (2009) Understanding the finance of welfare: what welfare costs and how to pay for it, 2nd edition, Bristol: Policy Press
Bellinger, W (2007) The economic analysis of public policy, London: Routledge
Barr, Nicholas (2004) The economics of the welfare state, 4th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Flynn, N (2007) Public sector management, 5th edition, London: Sage
Stiglitz, J (2000) Economics of the public sector, New York: WW Norton