Course: Social choice and public choice theory

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Course title Social choice and public choice theory
Course code KEMA/MSPCH
Organizational form of instruction Lecture
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Summer
Number of ECTS credits 3
Language of instruction English
Status of course Compulsory
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Course availability The course is available to visiting students
Lecturer(s)
  • Minárik Pavol, doc. Mgr. Ing. Ph.D.
Course content
1. Economic systems and mechanisms of scarce resource allocation 2. New Welfare Economics, efficiency and welfare 3. Public goods and externalities as a rationale for a collective action 4. Individual and collective action, organizations, firms and the state 5. Information asymmetry, agency problem and corporate governance 6. Collective action and public choice, dictatorship and democracy 7. The choice of the voting rules, positive properties of majority voting 8. Normative properties of majority voting, rational ignorance and rational irrationality 9. Political parties' competition, logrolling and coalitions 10. Interest groups and rent-seeking 11. Theory of bureaucracy 12. Economics of regulation 13. Public choice and public finance

Learning activities and teaching methods
unspecified, unspecified
  • unspecified - 26 hours per semester
  • unspecified - 26 hours per semester
  • unspecified - 26 hours per semester
Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: - identify problems occurring in collective decision-making; - apply economic models to explain the problems of collective choice; - make use of basic public choice concepts in discussion; - understand advantages and limits of economic approach in the analysis of social reality.
Prerequisites
unspecified

Assessment methods and criteria
unspecified
Class attendance is not compulsory; although, it is strongly recommended. Evaluation is based on the following criteria with respective weights: a) Short paper 25 % b) Midterm test 25 % c) Final test 50 % The final test is comprehensive. If the final test score is higher than the mid-term test score, the mid-term test will be disregarded and the weight of the final test is 75 %. Grading scale: Excellent (1): 90-100 % Very good (2): 75-89 % Good (3): 60-74 % Fail (4): 0-59 % or A: 95-100 % B: 85-94 % C: 75-84 % D: 65-74 % E: 60-64 % F (fail): 0-59 %
Recommended literature
  • Akerlof, G. A. The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 84(3), 488-500..
  • Alchian, A. A., & Demsetz, H. Production, information costs, and economic organization. American Economic Review, 62(5), 777-795..
  • Buchanan, J. M., & Tullock, G. The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. (available online: http://files.libertyfund.org/files/1063/Buchanan_0102-03_EBk_v6.0.pdf).
  • Buchanan, J. M. Positive economics, welfare economics, and political economy. Journal of Law and Economics, 2, 124-138..
  • Butler, E. Public choice ? A primer. London: Institute of Economic Affairs. (available online: https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IEA%20Public%20Choice%20web%20complete%2029.1.12.pdf).
  • Caplan, B. Rational ignorance versus rational irrationality..
  • COASE, R. H. The Nature of the Firm. Economica, Vol. 4, No. 16 (1937).
  • Mitchell, W. C., & Munger, M. C. Economic models of interest groups: An introductory survey. American Journal of Political Science, 35(2), 512-546..
  • Niskanen, W. A. Bureaucrats and politicians. The Journal of Law and Economics, 18(3), 617-643..
  • Olson, M. Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development..
  • Olson, M. The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the.
  • Rosen, H., & Gayer, T. Public Finance. McGraw-Hill Higher Education..
  • Stiglitz, J. E., & Rosengard, J. K. Economics of the Public Sector. WW Norton & Company. (vybrané kapitoly).


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester