Content

 

First term

Public Economics

 

October 1

Schedule: 15:00-20:00

Session 1. Economic effects of public intervention:

• The general debate on macroeconomic policy in times of crisis (the aggregate supply and demand model). Classical economists, Keynesian economists and the debate on the stabilization policy of the economic cycle. Xavier Cuadras

 What are and why do economic fluctuations ("business cycles") occur? What can we learn from the different historical episodes (the "Great Depression", the "stop and go" policies, the "Oil Crisis", the "Great Moderation", the long crisis of the Japanese economy and the "Great Recession? ")?

 What do different schools of macroeconomic thought say about stabilization policy?

 Required reading: chapter 17 of the book The Economy (Economics for a Changing World) and chapter 33 of the book Principles of Economics (see references section).

 And also the articles "Why wages do not fall in recessions", "The crude art of policymaking", "Lessons from a" lost decade "," Caveat creditor "and" Minsky’s moment "in The Economist magazine.

  

• Microeconomic aspects of governments: Market failures. Guillem Lopez Casasnovas

 Practical aspects of market failure: How to assess that the costs of public intervention are not higher than the benefits of correcting the market failure?

Reading:

 Class based on Stiglitz Ed Ariel Y pdf NouStiglitz.pdf. Mandatory reading to do before entering class, and that will be evaluated every day at the beginning

 

 Developments derived from the session and potential purpose of the presentations from the tutorials:

a- Strengths and weaknesses of public intervention in practice: determinants that can bemitigated and cannot be mitigated by economic policy

The Economic Role of The State J Stiglitz and others Ed Basil Blackwell, 1989 pp9-88 (there is a Spanish edition published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies). And from the same author, in Journal of Economic Perspectives: flight 12, 2 Spring 1998 pp. 3-22: Why is it so difficult to change the status quo in the AA.PP? pdf: LectStiglitz.pdf

b- A diversion: what the AA.PP. providing 'bicing' or 'dentists' in Barcelona?

You have to look for different complementary articles to the press.

c- Other areas that generate curiosity (regulation or provision of social security pensions; public provision with or without direct production to health, education, nursery vouchers, etc.) with details and material to be agreed to the tutorships.

 

October 7     

Schedule: 15:00-20:00

Session 2. Economic effects of public intervention:

• Microeconomic aspects of governments: Budgetary instruments: income and expenses. Theoretical and applied aspects. Guillem Lopez Casasnovas

Criteria for assessing a good tax system and a good spending program

Objective: to understand what an excess of taxation means for the economy; articulate normative criteria of social justice and how these operate in practice

Reading:

Class based on the art corresponding to the compulsory reading of Stiglitz, Ed Ariel And pdf NouStiglitz.pdf. to do before entering class, being evaluated at the beginning

 

Tutorships development:

a- Tax reforms A look at international taxation pdf: fiscaldominguez.pdf and various OECD documents for updates

b- What are the effects of eliminating inheritance tax? Pdf: SucesIEF.pdf and ReformaISD.pdf

c- The tax on sugary drinks

d- Copays in health and higher education: text from GL to Campalans.doc

e- c- Other areas that generate curiosity in detail and material to agree on to the tutorials

f- ...

 

• Macroeconomic aspects of governments: fiscal policy and monetary policy (the IS-LM model). Stabilizing effects of fiscal policy and monetary policy. Xavier Cuadras

 What are the pros and cons of fiscal policy and monetary policy with the objective of macroeconomic stabilization?

 Macroeconomic policy: what we thought we knew, what we learned during the crisis, and how we should design macroeconomic policy for the next few years

 Required reading: To read before class: Chapter 5 of the Macroeconomics book (see the references section).

 And also the articles "The next front is fiscal", "Put the air back in", "Sharing the pain", "Austerity alarm" and "Running out of options" in The Economist magazine, the article by the CaixaBank Research economist Adrià morrones "What room for maneuver does economic policy have?", Peter Bofinger's article "The 'bazooka': Modern Monetary Theory in action" and especially the articles by Blanchard, Dell'Aricia and Mauro "Rethinking Macroeconomic Policy" (You can also see the same authors "Rethinking Macro Policy II: Getting Granular") and by Blanchard and Summers "RethinkingStabilization Policy: Evolution or Revolution?".

 

October 14

Schedule: 15:00-20:00

Session 3. Economic effects of public intervention

• • A) Macroeconomic aspects of governments: monetary policy issues. The dilemma between inflation and unemployment (the Phillips curve). Inflation, unemployment, expectations and credibility of monetary policy. The independence of central banks. Xavier Cuadras

Should monetary policy choose between the objectives of price stability and economic growth? What is the role of the expectations of economic agents in the formulation of monetary policy? Why is the monetary policy of central banks independent of the political authority?

Required reading:

To read before class: chapter 35 of the book Principles of Economics (see the references section) and the article by R. Repullo in Papeles de Economía Española.

And also articles "Heroes of the zero", "Grim expectations", "The death of inflation" in The Economist magazine and the article "Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen on why the answer to the inflation puzzle matters".

 

B) Macroeconomic aspects of governments: MONETARY POLICY AND FISCAL POLICY IN THE EUROPE OF THE SINGLE CURRENCY. The European Central Bank and monetary policy. Centralization or decentralization of European tax policy. The future of macroeconomic policy in the euro zone. Xavier Cuadras

What is the economic reason for the existence of the Stability and Growth Pact? And its consequences?

How does the existence of the single currency condition the strategies to fight the economic recession in the different countries?

Required reading:

To read before class: Chapter 11 of the book The Economics of Monetary Union.

And also Paul De Grauwe's article "A Fragile Eurozone in Search of a Better Governance".

 

 • Microeconomic aspects of governments: Overall impact of the budget. Guillem Lopez Casasnovas

Expenditure modalities and specific objectives .. From welfare to worfare.Com Can a dual tax system do for a redistributive public policy? Tax incidence categories. Economic evaluation as cotton's proof of efficient achievement of objectives

Reading: recommended before entering class

JL Pinto's applied economic evaluation text to the FBBVA book textavalpinto.pdf

 

Development of complementary tutorials to those mentioned above

(I) The economic evaluation. The case of TAV Gines de Rus and V Inglada pdf: Spainhighspeed.pdf

(I) The debate 'Growing Public P.H. Lindert and controversy based on his contribution: pdfs: Debate2A.pdf; debate2B.pdf and Lindert.doc

(Ii) welfare programs at workfare, pdf: workfare.pdf

(Iii) Welfare models pdf: artmodels.pdf

(Iv) - Other areas that generate curiosity in detail and material to agree to the tutorials (for example, the proposal to modernize the Catalan AA.PP. of 2012 or the rescue of the Catalan highways, among others)

 

TUTORSHIP SESSIONS:

 

 Guillem López:

 November 5. Schedule: 15:00-20:00

 November 25. Schedule: 15:00-20:00

 

Xavier Cuadras:

 October 8: 15:00-20:00

 

November 19: 15:00-20:00

Sessions will be dedicated to the preparation and presentation of work done in groups. The groups and the topics of the papers will be set no later than the end of the plenary session on October 15. The first session will take place on October 19 from 3 to 8 p.m. and will consist of a meeting of a maximum of 30 minutes of each group with the teacher to set the objectives, content and development of the work. The second session will take place on November 12 from 3 to 8 p.m. and will consist of a plenary session of compulsory attendance where each group will briefly present their work. Another group will act as a commentator for each work to elicit questions, comments and observations.

References (textbooks) X. Cuadras:

BLANCHARD, O., A. AMIGHINI and F. Giavazzi (2012) PEARSON Macroeconomics 5th edition. Available through the link on the UAB Virtual Campus.

DE Grauwe, P. (2020) The Economics of Monetary Union, 13th ed. Oxford University Press

Mankiw, N.G. (2018) Principles of Economics, 8th ed. Cengage Learning.

(References available in the university libraries of Catalonia)

THE CORE TEAM (2017) The Economy (Economics for a Changing World.Available for free at https://core-econ.org/the-economy/book/text/0-3-contents.html (the Spanish version it is also available for free on the same website core-econ.org.

 

October 15

Schedule: 15:00-20:00

Session 4. Rationality of public intervention:

• The State as an organization. Ivan Planas

The doctrine of the public interest. Public Sector Bankruptcies: Can Public Sector Organization Generate Inefficient Results?

Government and agencies, economic theory of bureaucracy, political economy of public budgeting. Where are the main inefficiencies in the public sector and how to solve them?

Required reading:

"Public management: Concepts and institutions", chapter 1, sections 3, 4 and 5 of Albi et al (1997).

"Public management and efficiency", chapter 2, sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Albri et al (1997).

Managing senior management: senior civil service reform in OECD member countries. OECD GOV / PUMA (2003) 17

Chapters I and IV of the book: Guillem López Casasnovas (director), Jaume Puig-Junoy, Juan José Ganuza and Ivan Planas Miret (2003) The new instruments of public management. Volume 31, of the Economic Studies (available online)

"Compensation policies in Performance for Officials" .OECD Multilingual summaris. (PRP.pdf)

 

October 22

Schedule: 15:30-20:30

Session 5. Rationality of public intervention:

• Performance of the Public Sector in the economy. Assignment and regulation. Ivan Planas

What are the main allocation mechanisms, agents, and organizations? Within the allocation mechanisms, when the public sector must prioritize, which mechanism is better for queues orprices?

Public action through regulation. Economic modalities and effects. Is it better to use market regulation than productive intervention by the public sector? When? How?

Required reading:

"Public management: Concepts and institutions", chapter 1, sections 1 and 2 of Albi et al (1997).

"From Administration to Management", Chapter 4 of Albi et al (1997); and Annex III of chapter 2 of Albi et al (1997).

 

October 29

Schedule: 15:00-20:00

Session 6. Rationality of public intervention:

Organizational Systems and efficiency. Ivan Planas

Is it possible to introduce institutional and organizational reforms in the public sector that improve its efficiency?

Buy or produce? Public action through consultation and outsourcing of services. Rationality and problematic.

Is a governance model feasible in public institutions similar to that of private ones?

Required reading:

"Public management and efficiency", chapter 2, section 5 of Albi et al (1997);

"Innovations in public management", chapter 6 of Albi et al (1997).

Chapter VI, and VI of the book: Guillem López Casasnovas (director), Jaume Puig-Junoy, Juan José Ganuza and Ivan Planas Miret (2003) The new instruments of public management. Volume 31, of the Economic Studies (available online)

(Chapters 5, and 6) Plans I (say) Evolution of the governance and management model of the entities participated by the Catalan Health Service. PDF and photocopies.

"Complementary techniques of public management", chapter 5 of Albi et al (1997).

"Public management through cases", chapter 7 of Albi et al (1997).

JL Pinto, V. Ortún and J. Puig-Junoy, Cost-effectiveness analysis in health, Primary Care, 2001.

J. Puig-Junoy, JL Pinto and V. Ortún, Cost-benefit analysis in health, Primary Care,2001.

JL Pinto, J. Puig-Junoy and V. Ortún, Cost-Utility Analysis, Primary Care, 2001.

Planas I. (2005). Main public policy evaluation mechanisms. Economy 60.

 

TUTORSHIP SESSIONS:

 

Ivan Planas

November 11. Schedule: 15:00-20:00

Novemebr 26. Schedule: 15:00-20:00

November 12 9: 00-14: 00 and December 10. Hours: 9: 00-14: 00

 

 • Sessions 7 and 8. Public finances and intergovernmental relations: Joaquim Solé y Vilanova and Maite Vilalta.

• • Fiscal federalism: Fair taxation, sub-central taxes, and allocation of taxes; functions of the sub-central public sector, mobility, intergovernmental grants and funds to equalize fiscal capacity and needs.
• • Autonomous estates: Ceded and own taxes. 2009 financing model. Equalization fund and other funds.
• • Local farms. Taxes (IBI and others), rates and prices, tax shares. Supramunicipal Treasury. Workshops: Analysis of Specific Subsidies and Public Service Rates

  

TUTORSHIP SESSIONS::

 

Joaquim Solé-Vilanova

Maite Vilalta

December 3. Schedule: 9: 00-14: 00

December 10. Schedule: 9: 00-14: 00