PD:Economia del Sector Públic

Teaching plan for the course unit

Català

Castellano

English

General information

Course unit name: Public Sector Economics

Course unit code: 363652

Academic year: 2025-2026

Coordinator: Laia Maynou Pujolras

Department: Department of Econometrics, Statistics and Applied Economics

Credits: 6

Single program: N

Estimated learning time

Total number of hours 150

Face-to-face and/or online activities	60
(Except the GIE group.)

	- Lecture with practical component	Face-to-face		45
	- Problem-solving class	Face-to-face		15

Supervised project	40
(Except the GIE group.)

Independent learning	50
(Except the GIE group.)

Recommendations

Microeconomics I

Competences / Learning outcomes to be gained during study

-	Capacity for learning and responsibility (capacity for analysis and synthesis, to adopt global perspectives and to apply the knowledge acquired/capacity to take decisions and adapt to new situations).

To be able to make financial and business decisions, taking into account the current economic situation.

(— Assign and manage resources in a socially efficient manner in both the private and public sectors.
— Understand and apply the theoretical principles of public intervention in economics.
— Achieve efficiency in resource allotting processes in public and private organisations.
— Understand economic policies that favour social equitable resource and income distribution.)

To identify the economic agents that make up an economy and to understand how they interrelate so as to take economic decisions with full awareness of their effects.

(— Identify and understand governmental economic institutions and their role and functioning.
— Understand resource allotting processes of markets and public organisations. Their interaction.
— Identify the rational principles that justify public intervention in the provision of public goods or in market regulation.
— Analyse decision-making processes in government. Positive and normative aspects.
— Analyse and assess the adequacy and effects of public policies.)

Learning objectives

Referring to knowledge

Analyse the economic aspects of the state and its role in the economy.
Understand state interventions aimed at improving social welfare. Rationality, efficiency and effectiveness of public intervention in economic policy.
Understand the technical and institutional limitations of public intervention in the economy.
Analyse public choice processes.

Referring to abilities, skills

Interpret public policies from an economic perspective.
Identify market failures and potential governmental intervention measures.
Analyse the suitability of specific government interventions according to the type of economic problem involved.
Detect limitations on public decision-making in different political and institutional contexts.
Determine the influence and impact of pressure groups.

Referring to attitudes, values and norms

Understand government intervention in the economy as a measure aimed at improving social welfare by ensuring efficient creation and allocation of resources and equitable distribution of these resources.
Understand the importance of conceptual rigour and objective criteria in the analysis of economic policy at all levels of government.

Teaching blocks

1. The role of the state in the economy

1.1. Economic functions of the state: allocation, distribution, stability, growth

1.2. Analysis of the nature of the state and government; rationale of state intervention: what, when and how

1.3. Alternative mechanisms of resource allocation; public and private decisions; goals and incentives of public and private agents

1.4. Interactions in economic policy; multi-level government; factors influencing a global economy

2. Efficiency in resource allocation

2.1. The concept of efficiency in the allocation of economic resources; welfare economics and Pareto efficiency

2.2. The efficiency frontier; the first and second theorems of welfare economics; second best

2.3. Social welfare functions and the Arrow and Rawls critiques

3. Market failures

3.1. Positive and negative externalities

3.2. Public goods

3.3. Imperfect competition and monopoly

3.4. Distributive inequality

3.5. Information asymmetry; innovation

3.6. Macroeconomic failures: instability of the capitalist market and economic cycles, unemployment, inflation and growth

4. Equity and efficiency

4.1. Equity-efficiency tradeoff

4.2. Social decision-making

4.3. Measurements of consumer and producer surplus; social surplus

4.4. Principles of compensation

5. Factors influencing public decision-making

5.1. Normative approaches; the government as a benevolent agent: objectives and tools; Tinbergen’s quantitative model and the Lucas critique

5.2. Government failures; public choice: objectives of politicians and bureaucrats, regulatory capture

5.3. The problems of collective choice; democratic choice and Arrow’s theorem

6. Social calculation and evaluation

6.1. Cost-benefit analysis of public projects

6.2. Models and techniques for the evaluation of public policies

7. Models of state intervention in the event of market failures

7.1. Public and mixed provision of public services and merit goods; public companies, private companies and mixed models

7.2. Regulation of the private provision of public goods

7.3. Imperfect competition and information asymmetry

7.4. Regulation of market power and competition policy

7.5. Regulations on externalities management; common goods; environment

7.6. Policies for the activation of production and organisational innovation

7.7. Social inequality; alternative public policies

8. Analysis of specific policies

* This teaching block covers specific sectors or areas of government action that allow for detailed analysis of the creation, development and results of economic policies. The aim is to look in greater depth at how the principles of economic policy are applied in a specific area. The sectors are chosen by the teacher on the basis of his or her research expertise and the relevance to current developments in the general field of economic policy. Possible areas include policies on efficiency or those focused on social equitable distribution of resources.

8.1. Policies on efficiency: competition; regulation of public services; public companies and privatisation; regulation of products; technological and organisational innovation; environmental policies; energy policies and natural resources; regulation and supervision of financial markets

8.2. Policies on equity: migratory policy and regulations; labour policies and regulations; education; health; social programmes

Teaching methods and general organization

The teaching methodology combines lectures, problem-solving sessions, case studies and oral presentations. Emphasis is placed on national and international problems of particular contemporary interest.

The teaching staff posts the specific teaching programmes for each group, following the flexible model adopted in the teaching plan, which includes the bibliography and a list of compulsory electronic resources. During problem-solving and case study sessions, the lecturer goes through the solutions to problems and exercises completed in advance by students.

The teaching staff posts the problems and exercises on the Virtual Campus, indicating the deadlines for submitting solutions and any other activities the students are required to prepare. Students must use the Virtual Campus to submit the completed exercises and to send any other materials for the activities set by the lecturers.

Official assessment of learning outcomes

Students are offered two assessment options for this subject:

Continuous assessment + Repeat assessment (if applicable)
Single assessment (withdrawal from continuous assessment) + Repeat assessment (if applicable)

In accordance with the general regulations for official bachelor’s degrees, continuous assessment is the default option for all subjects. For this subject, continuous assessment comprises the following activities:

— Attendance of and participation in theoretical and practical sessions.
— Completion and submission of problem-solving exercises, case studies and any other activity set by the teaching staff. Students must complete at least 5 activities and none of the activities can count for more than 20% of the final grade.
— Final examination.

The weighting given to each of these activities for the calculation of the final grade is decided by the lecturer responsible for each group and stated in the teaching programme. The final examination can count for up to a maximum of 60% of the final grade.

Bachelor’s degree subjects have a single assessment period and allow for repeat assessment. The assessment procedure and content for repeat assessment are the same as described below for single assessment.

Standard examination dates and repeat assessment dates are shown in the academic calendar.

A range of assessment systems and mechanisms may be used, including the following: participation in activities, practical sessions, assignments, tests and examinations, and the compilation of a coursework folder. The lecturers assigned to each group list the assessed exercises and a general assessment schedule in the teaching programme (problem-solving exercises, case studies, text analysis and commentary, coursework folder and any other activity deemed suitable). Assessment of students enrolled in the GIE group may be different and is described in the group’s programme.

Students who fail to pass the continuous assessment are entitled to sit the final examination with no change in the weighting given to the activities/exam in this assessment procedure.

Examination-based assessment

Students who cannot meet these requirements, can waive their right to continuous assessment. If the final continuous assessment examination for a subject is set on the same day as the single assessment examination (as scheduled by the Academic Council), the express waiver is not necessary, as the student will sit either the final continuous assessment examination (if eligible for it according to the subject guidelines) or the single assessment examination. In the event that the final continuous assessment examination is held before the date scheduled by the Academic Council for single assessment, students who sit this examination are understood to have renounced the single assessment option. Students who do not take the continuous assessment examination are entered for single assessment.

The specific single assessment requirements are listed in the teaching programme by the lecturers assigned to each group. Students may be required to complete an examination and/or present a series of assignments. In some cases, single assessment also takes into account attendance of face-to-face activities such as practical sessions or seminars. This is stated in the teaching programme for each group.

The maximum grade available for the subject is the same for continuous assessment and single assessment. Students registered for single assessment are required to demonstrate that they have achieved the same learning outcomes as those registered for continuous assessment.

Assessment of students enrolled in the GIE group may be different and is described in the group’s programme.

Reading and study resources

Check availability in Cercabib

Book

GRUBER, Jonathan. Public finance and public policy. 5ª Ed. New York: Worth Publishers, 2016

Main textbook for the English-language group.

Catàleg UB

ALBALATE DEL SOL, Daniel; FAGEDA, Xavier; FERNÁNDEZ, Laura. Apunts de política econòmica: fonaments i polítiques. Barcelona : Publicacions Universitat de Bacelona, 2010

Catàleg UB

CONNOLLY, Sara. Economics of the public sector. London: Prentice Hall, 1999

Catàleg UB

COSTAS COMESAÑA, Antón. Lecciones de economía del sector público: mercados, gobiernos y políticas. Barcelona: Edicions UB, 2011

Catàleg UB

ACOCELLA, Nicola. Economic policy in the age of globalisation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005

Catàleg UB

HILLMAN, Arye L. . Public finance and public policy: responsibilities and limitations of government. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2009

Catàleg UB

STIGLITZ, Joseph E. La economía del sector público. 4ª ed. Barcelona : Bosch, 2016

Catàleg UB

TISDELL, Clement Allan. Microeconomic policy: a new perspective. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2008

Catàleg UB

ZERBE, Richard O. A primer for benefit-cost analysis. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2006

Catàleg UB

Electronic text

Documents publicats pel professorat de cada grup al corresponent Campus Virtual.