Public Choice

Catalog description

ECON 5321 : Public Choice (3-0) Public Choice analyzes public sector decisions using economic tools. Various models developed by public choice theorists will be investigated in detail. These models analyze concepts such as the rational voter theorem, optimal taxation rules, bureaucracy theory, the impact of special interest groups on political outcomes, club theory and local government finance, constitutional decision- making, regulation theory, and the median voter theorem. An advanced knowledge of markets and private sector behavior is necessary to fully comprehend the topics that will be discussed. In order to fully comprehend these models, a reasonable knowledge of calculus and econometrics is also required. Prerequisites: ECON 5302 or elementary regression analysis or elementary calculus or departmental approval.