Population and human capital policy in the EU II: economic policies (SEIS1 2015, PPMI2 2016, 2017)

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Aims and scope: 

This course starts with a revision of key concepts in economic policy, such as the effects of government policies on supply and demand, welfare economics, market failure, or the costs of taxation, that provide the basis for understanding policies related to human capital in the European Union, such as the subsidisation of education, the progessive taxation of work, or labour mobility inside the European Union's single market.

Topics: 

1. Supply, demand, and government policies. The case of the minimum wage. 2. The efficiency of markets and the costs of taxation. The case of the payroll tax. 3. Market failure: externalities, public goods, monopoly. The case of education. 4. Human capital and its importance. Human capital and earnings. Human capital and economic growth. 5. The rationale for a human capital policy. The tree elements of a human capital policy: human capital creation, explotation and migration. 6. Human capital mobility inside the EU. EU policy on human capital mobility. The rationale for an EU policy on human capital. 7. Human capital accummulation. National education policies. EU education policy. EU research policy. EU social policy. 8. Human capital taxation. National taxation and social security policies. EU policy on human capital taxation. EU policy on social security. 9. Human capital migration. National migration policies. EU migration policy. 10. The choice of a human capital policy for the EU.

Indicative reading: 

Mankiw, N. G., & Taylor, M. P. (2014). Economics. 3rd ed. Boston: Cengage Learning; Becker, Gary S. (1993) Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education. 3rd ed. University of Chicago Press; Anderson, Karen (2015) Social policy in the European Union. Palgrave Macmillan; Linda Hantrais (2007) Social policy in the European Union, 3rd ed. Palgrave Macmillan.

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