Public economics

Teacher(s)

Grandjean Gilles;

Language

French

Prerequisites

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

This course studies the role of the state in a market economy. At the end of this course, the student will be able to analyze the costs and benefits of public policies in terms of efficiency and equity. The lectures develop the classical theory of public economy in a formal way, and study in depth the Belgian context. The course emphasizes an intuitive understanding of theory through applications to major societal challenges and an analysis of current debates. Students will learn to put into perspective the concepts developed during the course through additional reading and will be able to evaluate public policies by working from a database.

Content

a) The lectures
The first part of the course will be devoted to the normative analysis of the role of the State in the economy. It will deal with the economic problem and the various coordination mechanisms, market efficiency and its limits, public goods and externalities. The second part of the course will focus on the study of the characteristics of public policies in Belgium. We will deal in detail with the structure and evolution of public expenditure in Belgium, and the causes of growth in the public sector. Then the course will focus on the analysis of government revenue. We will study the Belgian tax system from a historical perspective and in comparison with other countries. The third part of the course studies income and wealth inequalities, poverty and their determinants, as well as public policies for the redistribution of income.

Course Map
1. Introduction
2. Market, efficiency and failures
3. Externalities
4. Public goods and common resources
5. Public expenditure
6. Tax and fiscal policy in Belgium
7. Inequalities, poverty and redistribution

b) Group work
The group work (maximum 3 students per group) will focus on the effect of public policies. You need to analyze a question based on scientific resources. For this, you will have to (i) identify your question, (ii) identify sources, (iii) write a plan (iv) write your work and (v) present it orally.

Teaching methods

a) The lecture
The lecture consists of a presentation of the concepts and explanatory mechanisms, illustrated presentation of concrete cases inspired by current events with a particular emphasis on the Belgian system. It will be supplemented by exercises seen in class which illustrate the key theoretical concepts.

b) Group work
The teachers will present the analytical tools that the students will have to use to carry out their work. This is done in groups in order to produce a synthetic final report which will be debated during a class discussion. The teaching team supports groups of students in developing their work through regular meetings during the semester. The use of generative AI in this work is prohibited.

Evaluation methods

June: Written exam (75% of the final mark) and assessment of group work (25% of the final mark).
August: If the group work score is 3/5 or greater, then the score for the August session is calculated the same way as in June. Otherwise, the written exam is assessed out of 20 and is the only source of assessment. It is not possible to (re)do the group work for the August session.

Bibliography

Stiglitz, J.E., Lafay, J.D. et J.K. Rosengard (2018). Economie du secteur public. Traduction de la 4ème édition américaine par Françoise Nouguès, De Boeck Supérieur.

Faculty or entity

ESPB