View Specification DocumentPublic Economics ECON4045
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: Adam Smith Business School
- Credits: 15
- Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
- Typically Offered: Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course seeks to provide a foundation of public economics, by exploring the origins and consequences of public sector involvement in the economy.
Timetable
10 x 2-hour lectures
3 x 1-hour tutorials
1 x 2-hour revision lecture
Requirements of Entry
University of Glasgow students must have achieved Subject Honours entry requirements as detailed below to enrol on this course. Permission is required for non-Economics students to take this course as an outside option.
A GPA of 12 (average C3) in Economics 2A and 2B with no course grade below D3, attained at the first attempt. A minimum grade of D3 in both ECON1012, Introductory Mathematics for Economists and ECON1013, Introductory Statistics for Economists unless exemptions were agreed on the basis of other courses taken in year 1. Refer to course specifications for details. These grades may be achieved at the second attempt.
Excluded Courses
None.
Assessment
1. Report; Individual; 1000 words; 40%; ILOs 1, 3, 5, 6.
2. Degree exam: in-person; Individual; 120 minutes; 60%; ILOs 1-6.
Main Assessment In: April/May
Course Aims
The aim of the course is:
■ To equip students with the ability to analyse the role of public policy in a modern society and in particular its origin and its limitations.
■ To introduce students to the (micro- and macro-economic) analytical concepts, tools and models that constitute the workhorse of analysis and research in public economics.
■ To enable students to evaluate the results from the analyses in public economics that shape public policy today and be able to identify well established results and open questions in public policy.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to use concepts, analytical tools and models and evidence to:
1.Explain efficiency and equity in the market equilibrium, and as motivations and objectives for policy intervention.
2.Analyse key market failures that motivate fiscal government policy.
3.Describe fiscal policy instruments and synthesise empirical evidence on these instruments.
4.Critically analyse political economy explanations of fiscal policy and explain how they can be relevant in understanding observed public finance choices.
5.Critically analyse the effects of taxation on the economy.
6.Describe the main characteristics of optimal tax policy, explain the associated economic logic and theory, and synthesise main results from research and evidence.