Introduction
Welfare economics
The theory of collective choice
The reasons of public intervention in the economy
Market failures and government intervention
Public goods, mixed goods, merit goods
Club goods
Externalities
The economics of Regulation
Objectives and characteristics of the regulator
Interventions to regulate monopoly, price discrimination and two part tariffs
Competition for the market: auctions and other instruments
Regulation in particular sectors: the pharmaceutical industry, the credit industry and banking
Pricing of public enterprises and the public utility
Local public services: outsourcing, competition with the private sector, efficienty
Public expenditure growth
Definition of public spending
Growth models: Model of Wagner, Baumol's model, Niskanen model, incremental model
Income redistribution and social spending
The redistribution of income
The indices of income distribution and poverty
Social spending and social security
Pension system and their problems
The intervention in the health care market
The instruments of public sector funding
The principles of distribution of the tax burden
The main types of taxes
The effects of taxes
The excess burden of taxes
Optimal direct tax
Optimal indirect tax
Fiscal federalism
The model by Oates
The models by Tiebout
Fiscal federalism in Italy