Economics: Public Economics and the Welfare State

In this course, you explore how governments shape markets, welfare, and inequality. You analyse taxes and public spending, using theory and empirical evidence. You understand the behaviour of policy makers, public officials and how welfare states like Sweden balance efficiency, equity and freedom. This course explores how governments shape economic outcomes through taxation, public spending and welfare-state institutions. You learn to understand how governments evolve and grow. We analyse policy from both a normative perspective (what governments should do) and a positive perspective (how policies shape economic incentives and influence behavior). By combining economic theory and empirical methods, you get a comprehensive understanding of how welfare states balance efficiency, equity and individual freedom. A central theme is the interaction between markets and the state: when public intervention can improve outcomes, and when it might create inefficiencies. We also highlight the challenges of designing sustainable welfare systems in open and aging economies. Specific attention is given to welfare state reform and so-called quasi-markets, where governments pay private firms to provide welfare services.