Political Economy II

Code:

D108 II

Acronym:

EP II

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Economics

Instance: 2015/2016 - 2S (since 15-02-2016 to 20-05-2016)

Active?	Yes
Course/CS Responsible:	Law

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LDB	258	Oficial Study Plan LD	1	-	6	-

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

This discipline is based on economics and allows the students to understand: - The intervention of the government in the economy and the associated juridical consequences; - The interaction between public economics and politics and its influence on colective choice. - The links that embody individual choice and colective choice and the shape of institutions. - International economic relations within a globalized world; - The economic approaches to international trade, enhancing the gains from the opening of economies; - The payments among nations and the foreign exchange market; - The international movement of labour and capital and the mechanisms of economic integration and the appearing of trade blocs.

Learning outcomes and competences

The syllabus set provide the knowledge on the subjects treated, so students can apply them later in their academic life, personal and professional. Students will obtain skills to understand the economic realities they study throughout their academic training.

 

Working method

Presencial

Program

PART I - INTERNATIONAL TRADE

I - BASIC CONCEPTS OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS

1. Introductory concepts: the international economic order, international economic relations, financial problems in international markets

2. Actors in international economic relations: states; International Organizations; Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Private Agents; Multinational

3. Basic theory of international trade

4. Comparative advantage

5. Heckscher-Ohlin

6. Theory of Stolper-Samuelson

7. The Leontief Paradox

8. New theories of international trade

9. The competitiveness and international expertise

II - POLICIES OF EXTERNAL TRADE

1. Reasons for foreign trade policy: protectionism

2. Basic analysis of tariffs

3. Non-tariff barriers

4. Tariff barriers and the "rent-seeking"

5. Critical analysis to tariff barriers

6. Export incentives

7. The opening of world trade

8. The blocks of international trade

9. Anti-competitive

III - WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

1. The path taken

2. Principles of the multilateral trading

3. Multilateral trade and globalization

4. Critical evaluation and current challenges

IV - MONETARY AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

1. Types of economic integration

2. The consolidation of the European integration process

3. The single currency

4. Critical assessment and challenges in the European Union

PART II - PUBLIC ECONOMICS: A STATE INTERVENTION
I - THE FUNCTIONS OF THE STATE

1. Why the state intervenes in the economy?

2. The function allocation: the state prosecutor efficiency

2.1. Public goods and the "failure of the market system"

2.2. Mixed properties: the problem of appropriation of common resources

2.3. "Externalities" positive and negative

2.4. Merit goods

2.5. Dynamic approach to state intervention in the economy: changes and technological innovations

2.6. State intervention in the efficient regulation: an economic approach to law

3. The redistribution function: the state prosecutor equity

3.1. The theory of optimal distribution - normative and positive approaches

3.2. Equity criteria

3.3. "Trade-off" Efficiency / Equity

3.4. The Social Security

4. The stabilization function: the state prosecutor of macroeconomic stability

4.1. Macroeconomic effects of public spending and taxes

4.2. The income multiplier and the acceleration

4.3. Propulsion effect in public finance

4.4. Stabilization policies

II - TAXATION

1. The property income, fees, and other taxes: fundamental notions

2. Analysis of typified indicators on the relative weight of state revenue in the economy

3. The tax system

3.1. Principles configuration of taxation

3.2. The measurement of ability to pay
3.3. Problem of the choice of measures of ability to pay
3.4. Equivalence between the different categories of taxes

4. The theory of tax incidence

5. Taxes and social security contributions

6. Tax evasion

IV - ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF DEFICIT AND DEBT

1. The budget constraint

1.1. The budget balance and the "golden rule" of balance

1.2. The incidence of public debt and equity intertemporal

1.3. Restructuring the State to reduce the deficit and increase efficiency

V - THE POLITICAL SYSTEM AND STATE INTERVENTION

1. Democracy and public choice

1.1. Voting rules

1.2. The hypothesis of the median voter

2. Interactions in the political marketplace

2.1. The power of the bureaucracy

2.2. Approaches to the power of interest groups

2.3. Why voters vote?

2.4. The fiscal illusion

2.5. The "flypaper effect"

3. Democracy and the growth of public sector

VI - THE ECONOMIC APPROACH TO DECENTRALIZATION

1. Introduction and generalities

2. Rational arguments for decentralization

3. The functions of the various levels of government

4. The Tiebout model ("voting with their feet")

5. The "export" OF jurisdictional effects and taxation

6. Intergovernmental transfers

7. Local taxes - taxing property

VII-CHOICE IN THE FIELD OF PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL TRADE

1. The "lobbying" for protectionism

2. Policies of free trade agreements

3. Interest groups and voluntary export restraints

4. Political costs of protectionism

Mandatory literature

Cruz José Manuel Neves; Economia e política. ISBN: 978-972-32-1583-0
Pereira Paulo Trigo 070; Economia e Finanças Públicas
Ribeiro José Joaquim Teixeira 1908-; Lições de finanças públicas. ISBN: 972-32-0407-X
Musgrave Richard A.; Public finance in theory and practice. ISBN: 0-07-100227-8
Pugel Thomas A.; International economics. ISBN: 0-07-248748-8
Medeiros Eduardo Raposo de 1937-; Economia internacional
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; Reequacionando a acção do Estado na formulação de políticas de inovação
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; Evolução do quadro teórico do comércio internacional
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; Economia política II

Complementary Bibliography

Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; A^influência da burocracia e dos grupos de interesse na escolha pública. ISBN: 978-972-32-1761-2
Forte, Francesco; Principles of public economics. ISBN: 9781858986739
Fernandes, Abel L. Costa; A Economia das Finanças públicas, Almedina, 2010. ISBN: 978 972 40 4337 1
Posner Richard A.; The^economics of private law. ISBN: 1-85898-642-7
Rosen Harvey S.; Public finance. ISBN: 0-07-116738-2
Barbosa António Pinto; Economia pública. ISBN: 972-8298-67-6
Mankiw N. Gregory; Introdução à economia. ISBN: 85-352-0853-4
Samuelson Paul A.; Economia. ISBN: 972-9241-40-6
Cullis John; Public finance and public choice. ISBN: 0-19-877579-2
Pereira Paulo Trigo 070; Economia e finanças públicas
Mota Pedro Infante; A^função jurisdicional no sistema GATT/OMC. ISBN: 978-972-40-5064-5
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; A^intervenção pública no domínio dos cuidados de saúde
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; Bem público "cultura"
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; Equacionando a transformação da disciplina Economia Internacional numa renovada Economia Política
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; Considerações sobre a empresa em contextos globais
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; Análise económica da procura no mercado político. ISBN: 972-8307-44-6
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; Desafios jurídicos, económicos e políticos às crises mundiais

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical and practical classes: Exposition of the contents of the discipline with the support of graphics from economics; use of case-studies based on information published in the media.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	50,00
Teste	50,00
Total:	100,00

Calculation formula of final grade

See RAC

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

See the Evaluation Regulations of this Faculty

Classification improvement

See the Evaluation Regulations of this Faculty.