23-36.35.222 Economics of the Welfare State

Instructors: Prof. Dr. Mathias Kifmann

Event type: Lecture + practical course

Displayed in timetable as: Econ. Welfare State

Hours per week: 3

Credits: 6,0

Language of instruction: English

Min. | Max. participants: - | -

Comments/contents:
This course uses methods from economics to analyze the welfare state. The focus is on the economic effects of social health insurance, public pensions, and transfer programs to alleviate poverty. We analyze how these institutions affect the insurance and savings decisions and consider how they lead to intra- and intergenerational redistribution. We examine a number of important policy issues, e.g., the design of transfer programs and the consequences of ageing.

Among the topics covered are:
- Theories of society and the welfare state
- Types of welfare states
- Insurance, Savings and the Welfare State
- Low-income support
- Funded vs pay-as-you-go pension systems

The course provides introductory lectures on these topics which are supplemented by student presentations. Both theoretical and empirical literature will be discussed.

All material will be made available on OPEN OLAT.

Requirements:

Class attendance is required. In addition, students should have a good knowledge of microeconomics and should be familiar with regression analysis.

Literature:

The course uses the following textbooks:

Barr, Nicholas (2020). Economics of the Welfare State. 6th ed. Oxford: OUP.

Salanié, Bernard (2011). The Economics of Taxation. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Additional literature will be announced during the course.

Exam:

At the end of the term, essay topics relating to the lectures will be published. Students choose two essay topics. Each essay should have a length of 1,000 words +/-10 percent (text without bibliography). Essays need to be handed in by March 31st, 2023.

Grading:

Presentations (50 percent) and essays (50 percent).