The MPA Public and Economic Policy develops students’ ability to analyse and evaluate the economic policy making in national, regional and global contexts. Students develop strong empirical, quantitative and methodological skills to understand and develop effective economic policy. This stream particularly equips students to pursue careers related to economic policy making in international organisations, national administrations, and economic consulting.
Students taking the Public and Economic Policy stream choose at least two of the following three half-units:
Public Economics for Public Policy (EC410)
(0.5 units)
This is a course in theoretical and applied public economics using intermediate economic theory. Topics include: issues of equity and efficiency, alternative theories of the role of the state, models of public goods and externalities including environmental policy, issues of tax incidence and tax evasion, income inequality, poverty alleviation and the role of welfare programmes, health and education policy, the effects of taxes on labour supply and migration, the optimal taxation of commodities and incomes and public finance. The main institutional references will be to the UK and the US, but some attention will also be given to broader international experience.
Globalisation and Economic Policy (EC418)
(0.5 units)
This course studies the policy implications of globalisation. The course considers both theoretical and empirical analyses of the causes and consequences of increasing international economic integration, focusing particularly on the challenges and opportunities that globalisation creates for policy makers. Key areas covered include: trade, investment, technology diffusion and migration. The course builds on the knowledge developed in the MPA’s Year 1 courses.
Methods of Economic Policy Analysis (EC419)
(0.5 units)
This course provides an advanced treatment of the empirical methods that are used to evaluate the effectiveness of public policies. The course builds closely on the MPA’s Year 1 economics courses on Quantitative Approaches and Policy Analysis and Micro and Macroeconomics for Public Policy. In this course, topics covered include the problem of causality, the theory and practice of randomised experiments, difference in differences, regression discontinuity, and calibration.
The MPA in Public and Economic Policy prepares students for careers in economic policy-making. Alumni destinations include: Accenture, Deloitte, International Monetary Fund, JPMorgan Chase & Co, KPMG, Ministry of Finance, Ofcom, PwC, United Nations, U.S. Embassy and The World Bank Group.