Economic Policy and Public Choice
Lecture with Tutorial in WS 2020/2021
Prof. Dr. Alexander Spermann
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Götz Werner Chair of Economic Policy and Constitutional Economic Theory
You find informations about the online exams:
Informations about the online exams
Schedule
Lecture: Prof. Dr. Alexander Spermann
Online teaching, asynchronous with videos on ILIAS. Teaching will start first week of November.
The lectures will be uploaded every Thursday, beginning on 5th November 2020.
Tutorial: Dominik Schröder
Online teaching, asynchronous with videos on ILIAS. Tutorial will start second week of November.
The tutorials will be uploaded every Tuesday, beginning on 10th November 2020.
Supplementary Tutorials: Viktor Vogelmann (English), Lida Kuang (Chinese)
Online teaching, asynchronous with videos on ILIAS. Sub-Tutorials will start third week of November.
The sub-tutorials will be uploaded every Wednesday, beginning on 18th November 2020.
Password:
For the password of the slides on this page and for the password for Ilias please send an informal mail to wipo(at)vwl.uni-freiburg.de with the subject "EPPC password".
Contact:
Have any questions? Feel free to write a mail to dominik.schroeder (at) vwl.uni-freiburg.de
Target Group and Language
- This course is designed for first-year students of the M.Sc. Economics program (economics and politics), the M.Sc. VWL program, and Diplom-Students (Hauptstudium). Exchange students are equally welcome to participate.
- If students of other programs and faculties (e.g. political science) wish to participate, they should contact the tutor by email before the third week of the semester.
- Recommended prerequisites: Good knowledge of microeconomics.
- This module is entirely taught in English.
Credits: 6 ECTS
- M.Sc. Economics: First-year course for profile "Economics and Politics".
- M.Sc. VWL (PO2014): "Wirtschaftspolitik" and "Constitutional Economics and Competition Policy".
- M.Sc. VWL (PO2011): "Wirtschaftspolitik (Ordnungspolitik)".
- M.Sc. BWL (Public and Non-Profit Management): "Volkswirtschaftslehre"
- Diplom VWL: "Wirtschaftspolitik (Ordnungspolitik)" and "Ordnungs- und Wettbewerbspolitik".
Downloads & Content
- Outlines and slides will be provided at this website.
- Literature and presentations will be provided on Ilias.
Lecture:
Lecture Slides (Revision 30.10.2020)
Tutorial:
Sub-Tutorial:
Sub-Tutorial 5 (see videos on ILIAS)
Sub-Tutorial 9 (see videos on ILIAS)
Outline:
- Introduction
- Economic problems of economic policy
- Economic man and collective action
- Allocation and exchange
- Distribution and conflict
- Liberty and welfare
- Implementation and reform
- Stability and sustainability
- The public choice of economic policy
- Rational and behavioral public choice
- Positive and normative public choice
- Institutions and hierarchies of public choice
- Authoritarian policy formation
1.1 Leviathan governments
1.2 Autocratic regimes - Democratic organization and voting rules
2.1 Rational voting and basic voting systems
2.2 Direct and representative democracy
2.3 Legislature and Bureaucracy
2.4 Interest groups, rent-seeking and lobbying - Spatial hierarchy
3.1 Federalism
3.2 Supranational policy choice
- Authoritarian policy formation
- Liberal concepts of economic policy formation
- Ordoliberal design and Constitutional political economy
- Liberal paternalism
- New Ordoliberalism
- Application to special policy issues
- Redistribution in democracy
- Organizing the just welfare state
- Market regulation and privatization
- Constitutional budget constraints and their effects on economic policy
Readings:
- Hillman, A.L.: Public Finance and Public Policy, 2nd Ed., Cambridge 2009.
- Mueller, D.C.: Public Choice III, Cambridge 2003.