A) For modules I&II
1) Lecture notes made available on Moodle
2) Hillman, A. Public Finance and Public Policy 2nd ed, CUP 2009, chps: 1, 2, 3, 6 e 10
3) Nurmi, H. Models of Political Economy, Routledge, 2006, chps: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10;
4) Taylor, A., Pacelli, A. Mathematics and Politics. Strategy voting Power and Proof, 2nd ed., Springer, 2008; chps: 1 and 3
5) Comap, For All Practical Purposes, Mathematical Literacy in Today’s World, W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 2013, chps: 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.
B) For module III
Lecture notes made available on Moodle.
Learning Objectives
The course aims at making students acquainted with the economics of Institutions. The technicalities will be kept to a bare minimum and brought back when needed. The course is therefore self-contained.
Prerequisites
The course is meant to be accessible to all students even to those with just a bare economic background
Teaching Methods
Mainly front line lectures (70%), case studies (30%).
Further information
All students (whether or not they intend to attend lectures) should enroll to the course within the first week of lectures by accessing the E-Moodle platform.
Type of Assessment
Students regularly attending lectures can take the final examination in the form of an essay on a topic previously agreed with the teacher.
Those not attending lectures will have to sit for a vival. Students can download Lecture notes from E-Moodle platform.
The Syllabus for attending and non attending students is the same. For both attending and non-attending students the examination aims at:
1) testing the command over the relevant theory;
2) ascertaining the capability of consistently applying the theory to explain observed data and behaviour.
Course program
Module I: Meaning and role of Institutions; Public decision making as public goods; Alternative methods in public decision making.
Module II: Voting systems; The choice of the voting rule; Manipulation of voting systems; Political competition; Indices of voting power in weighted voting systems; The case of international organisations; Theories of public sector behaviour and bureaucracy; Rent seeking models
Module III: Methods and case studies of efficiency measurement in public organisation and private enterprises.