Universität Wien
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040244 KU Welfare Economics (BA) (2024W)

8.00 ECTS (4.00 SWS), SPL 4 - Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
ON-SITE
Moodle
Tu 01.10. 13:15-14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock

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Details

max. 50 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Wednesday 02.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 08.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 09.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 15.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 16.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 22.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 23.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 29.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 30.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 05.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 06.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 12.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 13.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 19.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 20.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 26.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 27.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 03.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 04.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 10.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 11.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 17.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Tuesday 07.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 08.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 14.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 15.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 21.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 22.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
  • Tuesday 28.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 12 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
  • Wednesday 29.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Aims: Welfare economics proposes methods for providing a social ranking of resource allocations based on explicitly stated value judgments. It is used to evaluate the impact of public policy or the social value of implementing certain large projects. This course introduces students to some controversies and basic concepts in Welfare Economics, covering some applied measurement tools through simple examples. It also explores recent developments that extend beyond the traditional welfarist approach. By the end of the course, students should be able to rigorously argue on issues related to ordinal vs. cardinal utility, the limits of Pareto optimality, the compensation principle, and the meaning of various social welfare functions. Additionally, they should be capable of calculating money measures of the welfare impact of certain policy changes in simple numerical examples.

Contents: Pareto optimality and the fundamental theorems of welfare; Kaldor-Hicks compensation; social welfare functions; welfare measurement for producers; Hicksian vs. Marshallian measures of consumers' welfare; market failures; cost-benefit analysis; public choice; Coase theorem; functionings and capabilities; welfare vs.~well-being

Method: Since graded activities may vary throughout the semester, it is crucial that students regularly check the course's news forum on Moodle for updates on current learning goals and course developments. All materials, including annotated presentations and solved problems, will be made available on Moodle. Course participants are expected to attend lectures regularly, participate in discussions, and complete the graded activities posted on Moodle. In the exams, students are expected to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the content and materials presented in class and provided on the course platform.

Assessment and permitted materials

Grading: The final course grade will be based on class participation (10 %), graded Moodle activities (20 %), midterm (30 %) and final exam (each 40 %). Students are encouraged to use the forum actively for interaction beyond the lecture and, in case of difficulties, to contact the lecturer during office hours.

Exam dates
Midterm: Wed., November 20, 2024, at 13:15--14:45 in lecture hall 5.
Final: Wed., January 29, 2025, at 13:15--14:45 in lecture hall 5.
Retake: Wed., February 19, 2025. Time and date to be announced.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

To achieve a minimum passing grade, students must satisfactorily complete all assessment components and attain at least 50\% of the total points. Grading scales will be as follows: 0-49% - fail; 50-63% - pass; 64-74% - satisfactory; 75-86% - good; 87-100% - excellent.

Examination topics

All contents and material presented in class and made available on the course platform.

Reading list


  • Richard E. Just, Darrell L. Hueth, and Andrew Schmitz, The Welfare Economics of Public Policy, Edward Elgar, 2004.

  • Per-Olov Johansson, An Introduction to Modern Welfare Economics, Cambridge University Press, 1991. Available online through the univeristy library at https://doi-org.uaccess.univie.ac.at/10.1017/CBO9780511582417

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Tu 03.09.2024 15:25