Economic Analysis of the Public Sector

MGDI61091 Economic Analysis of the Public Sector 15 Semester 1 Postgraduate Taught Level 6 David Lawson Unit coordinator Global Development Institute 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 7.5 <div> The unit will adopt a (‘soft’) development economics approach, i.e. no prior understanding economics is assumed, to cover the following topics:   The Public Sector and The Market: Market Failure, Government Failure and Public Choice <ul> <li> The Role of Public Expenditure and Development: Case Study – Are Government Too Small or Too Big?</li> <li> Government Taxation and Development: Case Study - Payroll Taxes and the Informal Sector and Who Pays the Tax? Which Taxes are Pro/Re-gressive? Gender Budgeting?</li> <li> Economics of Public Sector Policy and Social Welfare: Case Study – Who Are the Poorest? How do We Target the Poorest? and What Programs and Policies Work for the Very Poorest?  - Program examples from across the world, but with a special focus on several case studies across SSA.</li> <li> Education: Case Study – How Should We Finance Higher Education in Developing Countries? And The Role of Inequality – Case Study of Ghana  - Guest Lecture by Dr Lawrence Ado-Kofie, University of Manchester (TBC)</li> <li> Privatisation and Regulation: Case Study - Is Privatisation ‘Bad’ for the Poorest? Why Do We Privatise? The cost of and Models of Regulation – Case Study of Jamaica</li> <li> Public Enterprise, Privatisation and Regulation – A Governance View – Guest Lecture (TBC) by Dr Colin Jacobs (British Council).</li> <li> Social Insurance and Pension Schemes: Financing and How to Structure Social Health Insurance</li> </ul> Individual and cross country case studies are provided for each of the lectures. These are drawn from the wealth of experience gained by the module convenor who has advised developing country governments, particularly in SSA, over the last 25 years - designing, implementing and analysing public sector policies.</div>   <div> The unit aims to: <ul> <li> Provide students with the theoretical knowledge, and complement with applied examples, for them to understand the main issues underpinning current issues in economic analysis of the public sector</li> <li> Examine the size and scope of the public sector in developing countries.</li> <li> Study the role of the public sector in the development process, through a focus on key areas such as taxation, expenditure, education and welfare.</li> <li> Consider the role and effectiveness of different public policies in the context of the economic interactions existing between government, markets, and households in developing countries, whilst providing a series of applied examples from developing countries (especially sub-Saharan Africa)</li> <li> Develop analytical skills in relation to economic analysis of the public sector at the national and international level.</li> </ul> </div>   <ul> <li> Critique the main principles of public sector provision and the relative merits of states and markets</li> <li> Outline, assess, and provide examples of, the key economic issues of public policy design, adoption, evaluation -  with a particular focus on notions of equity and efficiency.</li> <li> Understand the basis (theoretical motivation) for evaluation of the economic performance of the public sector and be able to apply this to ‘real world’ examples, using development economics principles as a base.</li> <li> Undertake comparative assessments of public sector performance</li> </ul> <ul> <li> To appreciate the intellectual origins of public sector policy theory and be able to analyse, from an economics perspective, development policy that has been implemented across, and within, developing countries</li> </ul> <ul> <li> To gain a critical appreciation of a range of approaches to analysing key policies.</li> </ul> The course will help you develop the following skills <ul> <li> General research skills</li> <li> Planning and evaluation skills – allowing students to understand processes that underpin the public policy processes and impact evaluation.</li> <li> Critical problem solving skills.</li> <li> Motivation and self-directed learning.</li> <li> Communication skills and self-development and awareness</li> </ul> <div>Lecture, Tutorials and VLEThe course unit will be delivered via weekly 2 hour lectures from Dr David Lawson, who has more than 25 years of applied development experience, having worked and lived in several developing countries, and advised more than a dozen developing country governments on issues of public policy.  He has extensive experience in the economic analysis of public sector policies – most recently having advised a series of donors including UNICEF, DFID and the World Bank. Guest lectures/seminars (TBC) also complement the series.Seminars/tutorials will require reading and preparation beforehand.A high level of student participation will be required from students throughout the course. This will be essential for the preparation of the assignments. All lecture slides and video support file containing a wealth of case material covering the syllabus will be on VLE to support learning. </div>  2 Written assignment (inc essay) 100% Other: Formative Essay (500 words) - Practice essay to be undertaken half way through the module and to be discussed in tutorials (non-assessed) There will be many opportunities for formative feedback in seminar discussions. Oral feedback will be provided in response to class discussions. Summative feedback will be provided on assessed coursework. Y Specific readings will be provided at the start of each lecture, but notable reading includes:<ul><li>Stiglitz, J (2000) Economics of the Public Sector, WW Norton, 3rd edition.</li><li>Lawson, David, David Hulme and Lawrence Ado-Kofie (2017) , “What Works for Africa’s Poorest”, Practical Action <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOovarF203s" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/pOovarF203s</a></li></ul>What Works for Africa's Poorest Children: From Measurement to Action <a href="https://practicalactionpublishing.com/book/2366/what-works-for-africas-poorest-children" id="LPlnk633832">https://practicalactionpublishing.com/book/2366/what-works-for-africas-poorest-children</a>Gender, Poverty and Access to Justice: Policy Implementation in SSA  <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315407104" id="LPlnk151540">https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315407104</a> Lectures 20 Tutorials 6 0 124