Public Economics

Public economics is the study of economic issues concerning the public sector (including government) and its interaction with the private sector (including households, both small & big businesses and markets) in a mixed economy. The curriculum involves the study of the concepts of two relatively older fields of public finance and welfare economics. While much of economics is based on the role and functioning of markets, public economics considers the functioning of government and its role and scope in promoting economic well-being.

Broad methods and topics include:

• analysis and design of public policy
• public-finance theory and its application
• distributional effects of taxation and government expenditures
• analysis of market failure and government failure