Economics and Finance

Teaching goals The Economic Policy course aims at teaching the main reasons why the State takes actions to govern the economy as well as the objectives the State should set and the specific measures that should be taken in order to achieve such objectives. To this end, students are, first of all, introduced to the reasons why free markets may fail to lead to efficiency and to outcomes that are acceptable according to widely shared conceptions of equity. Subsequently, they will learn the properties of a rational model of economic policy and will become acquainted with the various policy measures that in each case may correct market failures. Such measures will be distinguished according to their micro or macroeconomic nature and to their applicability to a closed or an open economy. Finally, students will also learn the reasons that explain why policy intervention itself may fail distinguishing between the case of badly designed policies and opportunism on the part of either policy makers or bureaucrats. Acquired knowledge Students passing the Economic Policy exam know which role the State should play in modern economic systems; the goals it should pursue under every circumstance and the measure it should take in order to achieve its goals in a consistent way and in the more efficient way. Moreover, successful students know the role that both in Italy and in the more advanced countries the State has actually played, its successes and the open problems it now faces. They also learn how globalization impacta upon national economic policies and the advantages and diffficulties of an international coordination of national policies. This acquired knowledge is necessary both to those who wish to continue studying economics and those who wish to enter the labour market after the Laurea. Acquired skills Students passing the exam are able to identify the main features of a public policy which should be effective and efficient; they can understand the main ongoing debates on the role that the State should play, in particular with reference to fiscal policy; the can also understand the decisions taken both by national and international bodies and predict their likely effects on several economic variables; they can read and largely understand several reports by national and international bodies, like the Bank of Italy, the Ministry of Economy, IMF, Oecd, etc. Finally they may read not too difficult scientific papers.