ECON8018 Cost-Benefit Analysis
| Offered By | School of Economics |
|---|---|
| Academic Career | Graduate Coursework |
| Course Subject | Economics |
| Offered in | ECON8018 will not be offered in 2009 |
| Unit Value | 6 units |
| Course Description |
There are a variety of reasons for wanting to measure the costs and benefits from policy and other changes in economic activity. Governments want to measure the impact of their policy changes on society as a whole, while private agents focus on the impact they have on their own welfare and the welfare of those they care about. In markets subject to tax and other distortions market prices are not normally reliable measures of the social valuation of goods and services. Thus, they cannot be used to evaluate the social impact of policy and other changes. Instead, we derive shadow prices of goods and services to look through market distortions and measure social valuations. When changes in economic activity are evaluated using these shadow prices they provide measures of the social impact of policy and other changes. This course summarises the information provided by different welfare measures for single consumers and then looks at ways to aggregate them over consumers. In doing so we examine ways to account for distributional effects in policy evaluation. Tax reform and the optimal provision of public goods are examined as applications of these shadow pricing rules. |
| Learning Outcomes | Provide an understanding of the way to evaluate policy and other changes |
| Indicative Assessment |
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| Workload | 10-12 hours per week |
| Course Classification(s) | AdvancedAdvanced courses are designed for students having reached 'first degree' level of assumed knowledge, which provide a deep understanding of contemporary issues; or 'second degree' and higher levels of knowledge; or for transition to research training programs. |
| Areas of Interest | Economics |
| Eligibility | An honours degree in Economics with H2A or higher, or completion of a Graduate Diploma in Economics with an exit grade of Merit or better |
| Prescribed Texts |
See Course Website: http://ecocomm.anu.edu.au/courses/course.asp?code=ECON8018 |
| Preliminary Reading |
See Course Website: http://ecocomm.anu.edu.au/courses/course.asp?code=ECON8018 |
| Indicative Reading List |
See Course Website: http://ecocomm.anu.edu.au/courses/course.asp?code=ECON8018 |
| Programs | Graduate Diploma in Applied Economics, Graduate Diploma in Economic Policy, Graduate Diploma in Economics, Graduate Diploma in International Trade and Economic Relations, Master of Applied Economics, Master of Economics, Master of Health Economics, and Master of Economic Policy |
| Other Information |
Recommended Reading:
For further information please refer to http://ecocomm.anu.edu.au/courses/course.asp?code=ECON8018 |
| Academic Contact | See http://ecocomm.anu.edu.au/courses/outline/ECON8018.pdf |
The information published on the Study at ANU 2009 website applies to the 2009 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2008 website.
