The Economics of the Public Sector
ECON0050 AY 2022/23
Module leader: Dr Silvia Dal Bianco
Coursework: Individual Essay, worth 65 of module final mark
Submission: Turnitin Link
Submission Deadline: Friday December 16th 2022 2:00 pm (14:00 hours), London time
Assignment: write an essay EITHER on Question 1 OR on Question 2
You need to provide JUST ONE ANSWER TO ONE QUESTION
Please check the Assessment’s coversheet for word-count and other instructions
Question 1
Public assistance refers to assistance programs that provide either cash assistance or in-kind
benefits to individuals and families from the government.
Public provision of goods is often considered as a waste for public assistance while an
equivalent cash payment would be welfare-improving.
Discuss and evaluate arguments that might instead justify direct provision of goods rather
than equivalent cash.
The arguments employed should be supported by economic analysis, literature references
and real-world examples.
Question 2
Discuss the theoretical and practical issues which would need to be considered in designing
an empirical study of the net distributional incidence of public expenditure and taxation.
The arguments employed should be supported by economic analysis, literature references
and real-world examples.
1
ECON0050 AY 2022/23
Module leader: Dr Silvia Dal Bianco
Coursework: Individual Essay, worth 65 of module final mark
Submission: Turnitin Link
Submission Deadline: Friday December 16th 2022 2:00 pm (14:00 hours), London time
Assignment: write an essay EITHER on Question 1 OR on Question 2
You need to provide JUST ONE ANSWER TO ONE QUESTION
Please check the Assessment’s coversheet for word-count and other instructions
Question 1
Public assistance refers to assistance programs that provide either cash assistance or in-kind
benefits to individuals and families from the government.
Public provision of goods is often considered as a waste for public assistance while an
equivalent cash payment would be welfare-improving.
Discuss and evaluate arguments that might instead justify direct provision of goods rather
than equivalent cash.
The arguments employed should be supported by economic analysis, literature references
and real-world examples.
Question 2
Discuss the theoretical and practical issues which would need to be considered in designing
an empirical study of the net distributional incidence of public expenditure and taxation.
The arguments employed should be supported by economic analysis, literature references
and real-world examples.
1
