Should there be a wealth tax? How generous should social insurance benefits, like unemployment benefits, be? Is a universal basic income a good idea? How can we combat climate change? These pressing public policy questions seem unrelated but as you will learn in this course one can think about these issues as an optimal tax problem. This course discusses the tools of public economics to thoroughly analyze the above-mentioned questions and puts particular emphasis on data analysis to provide evidence-based policy recommendations.
The teaching block of this course is divided into four parts:
- Taxation and Inequality, with a special focus on wealth taxes.
- Social Insurance.
- Universal Basic Income.
- Climate Change.
The course will give students an introduction to frontier research and policy applications in public economics in a manner that makes the course suitable both for students starting a major in economics, as well as for students exploring economics as a supplement to their profile. In the context of these topics, the course will provide a non-technical introduction to both basic public economics theory and basic methods in data analysis, including causal inference and machine learning. The course should equip students with tools to thoroughly analyze data and public policy questions as well as enable students to provide evidence-based policy recommendations.
The teaching block will take place in the first half of the semester with classical lectures, in-class discussions, and problem sets. In the second half of the course, students work out a research proposal on any topic of their choice. Students will present an early version of their proposal and receive repeated feedback. The idea of the research proposal is that students use this opportunity to develop ideas for their Master thesis and learn how to answer a question of their choice in a structured way.