Public Choice

Code:

2ME17

Acronym:

PC

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Economics

Instance: 2025/2026 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Agrupamento Científico de Economia
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Economics

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
ME	16	Official Syllabus after 2021-2022	1	-	6	42	162
MFPE	4	Study plan	1	-	6	42	162

Teaching language

English

Objectives

The goal of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the Public Choice theory on the motivations of public decision-making stakeholders – in particular, politicians, voters, bureaucrats, and interest groups – and on the political and institutional framework in which the decision-making takes place.

Learning outcomes and competences

The student should be able to understand and explain, based on the economic theory methodology, the observed discrepancies between the normative and positive behavior within public decision-makers.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Pre-requisites include the knowledge of the basic macro and microeconomic concepts and the fundamentals of optimization techniques.

Program

Part 1 | Public choice in a direct democracy: voting rules

Part 2 | Public choice in a representative democracy

Part 3 | The institutional framework of public choice

Mandatory literature

Mueller, Dennis C.; Public choice III. ISBN: 0-521-89475-1

Complementary Bibliography

Cullis, John G.; Public finance and public choice. ISBN: 978-0-19-923478-3
Hindriks, Jean; Intermediate public economics. ISBN: 978-0-262-08344-7

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical presentation of the contents of the course, discussion of scientific papers, applications solving

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Teste	70,00
Trabalho escrito	20,00
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	10,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	4,00
Estudo autónomo	103,00
Frequência das aulas	42,00
Trabalho escrito	13,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Continuous evaluation requires students to attend at least 75% of the lectures and a minimum of 6.0 points in each exam.

Calculation formula of final grade

Continuous evaluation: two exams (each one weighting 35%), and a project with a written component (weighting 20%) and an oral component (weighting 10%)

Regular exam: a comprehensive exam (100%)

Retake exam: a comprehensive exam (100%)

Examinations or Special Assignments

Each one of the written tests/exams may be complemented with an individual oral discussion, if judged necessary.

Classification improvement

Through final exam in the retake period.

Observations

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
1 - No Poverty
8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions