Department of Economics & International Development, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
EC50120 Welfare economics and distributive justice |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Masters |
| Semester: 1 |
| Assessment: EX 100% |
| Requisites: |
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Aims: The aims of this unit are to provide a good understanding at graduate level of the underpinnings of welfare economics and distributive justice beginning with the welfare properties of general equilibrium.
Learning Outcomes: At a general level, students will be equipped with the ability to analyse economic decisions under the light of formal principles of economic welfare and fairness. At a more practical level, students will be able to choose among rules of fair division of resources, on the basis of the properties of these rules. Skills: Ability to develop rigorous arguments through precise use of concepts and mathematical models (Taught/Facilitated/Assessed) Ability to select, summarise and synthesise written information from multiple sources (T/F/A) Ability to select and use appropriate ideas to produce a coherent response to a pre-set question (T/F/A) Comprehensive and scholarly written communication (T/F/A) Concise and effective written communication (e.g. briefings/written exams) (T/F/A) Effective oral communication (e.g. lecture question and answer) (F) Content: Pareto optimality and the Pareto criterion. Principles of distributive justice. Cardinal welfarism. Ordinal welfarism. Solutions to the problem of the Commons. Economic exploitation in general, and economic exploitation in capitalism. |